Death's Hand 死の手
by Foxx28
Summary: His life wasn't that different from mine. I understood him. His pain was my pain. We laughed loved and suffered together. He was my life and I was his. But when are there every happy endings? ItachiXOC Future lemons & limes
1. How it all began

From the time I could walk, I was trained by my father. Kept away from other children, and confined in the very compound I despised. Forced to study and train from sun rise to sunset under his hateful glare;. That man never earned the right to be called father from me. He never showed any love or compassion toward me at all. My family was gone, my mother died during childbirth, and our clan had left many years ago leaving my pregnant mother (who was pregnant with me at the time) and father here in Konoha. So it was just my father and I, living in our clan house, though he rarely aloud out me to go outside; but I secretly left every night after he had long passed out from alcohol.

The village was peaceful at night. I had often just wondered around the village, looking at all of the building's wondering what it was like in the daytime. Being six year's old I was very curious and adventurous. I had learned very quickly though of area's I should avoid where all the drunks and sick people tended to be. Quite often I would run laps around Konoha, the cool night air and bright moon as my companions. One would think being trained so often that I wouldn't do it in my spare time. It would only be natural for me to, but the training stuck with me and I enjoyed it quite a bit when I was alone.

My 'father' had taught me everything he knew. How to use our bloodline, and our clan jutsu's as well as stealth, chakra control, poison's, the anatomy of humans and animals, and the basic skills of being a ninja. He had bluntly told me one day why he treated me the way he did….

_Flashback 3__rd__ POV_

"_Suku, you are nothing to me but a murderer." He snarled, "You are the reason your mother is dead. If you would have died then she would have lived." Growling he then picked her up by her shirt, " The only reason I train you is because once you join the Shinobi ranks I know for sure that you will die." He then dropped her on the ground and stalked off into the compound. Glaring at her father's retreating form she picked herself up off the ground; and Suku's devious little mind began the plan out her father's long awaited death. If he thought of her as a murderer then she would show him a murderer…_

My father's death had to be of natural, so I wouldn't be suspected of murdering him. It had taken all my self-control to not slit his throat in the middle of the night, with only the moon as my witness. It was during my study of poisons did I finally find the solution to all of my problems. The ****

kyouchikutou, or the oleander, its leaves and branches are highly poisonous and cause heart attack's... After I had made this discovery my mind went into overdrive thinking of ways to give it to my father. Many hours later the preparation was complete, I had found the plant deep in the forest behind the compound. With much caution and care I was able to pick the plant from the roots , so I could add it to my personal and ever growing garden.

* * *

The usual vibrant, yellow haired Hokage sat at his desk trying to defeat his worst enemy…paper work. Stacks of paper where so high you couldn't even see the poor man. Groaning with defeat he began to bang his head against the desk before he abruptly stopped.

" That's it!" He jumped up from his desk before making a cross symbol with his hands saying, " Kage Bushin no Jutsu." A poof of white smoke appeared beside the man, and out walked the exact replica of the Hokage: Tall, yellow-haired, sun kissed skin and bright clear blue eyes. He pointed to the paper work and the clone got right to work. Smiling proudly to himself as he walked out of the building, the Hokage decided to visit a certain medic-nin along with her uh…father.

The Senshi clan house was tucked back into the forest, surrounded by massive fruit bearing trees, flowers, and berry bushes. The house itself was small compared to other clan houses. As it only held about 30 bedrooms where as the Hyuuga Estate held around 50-70 bedrooms.

As the Yondaime walked through the vegetation toward the front door, he heard (more like sensed) someone in the backyard. Shrugging he turned toward the back of the house intent on see who is was; The back yard had rows and rows of growing plants and bushes, each one different; and on the far left of the backyard was a large greenhouse. The fire shadow wasn't really surprised when it turned out to be Senshi Suku. She was kneeling next to a plant, well more like a bush. Her hand was engulfed with blue chakra as she carefully moved her hand into the bush; Once her hand found the stem she began to expertly cut the berries off the bush with just her chakra. The young Hokage found this intriguing as Suku was only around six years old.

" That is quite impressive, Suku," Concentrating on cutting the stem, Suku didn't look up from the bush as the Hokage continued to speak to her. "You know, many children your age can't do what you just did."

"Many children don't train as hard was my daughter does, Hokage-_sama_." Responded a man on the far right of the garden; He had the standard long turquoise hair, and blue-green eyes that many people from the Senshi clan had, including Suku.

"Hello, Izuko." The Yondaime greeted, but he did not smile.

"Namikaze," Izuko, replied dryly " Can I help you with something?" The two locked eyes for a moment before Minato spoke.

"Yes, I would like to speak with your daughter." He turned his gaze away from Izuko to Suku who was smashing some of the berries, she had previously collected, in a bowl.

"And why would you want to do that?" Izuko asked frowning.

Sighing the Yondaime turned to the older Senshi, "I would like to ask her some questions. So shut up and go inside, Izuko." Izuko glared at the Hokage before stalking back into the Estate.

Minato turned his attention back to Suku, who was now pouring two liquids, one deep red and the other green, into two different vials.

"What are you making?" He inquired as he casually wondered over to her workspace, in the large greenhouse.

"This-"Suku pointed toward the green liquid, "isRhubarb; the raw leaf blades cause convulsions, coma, and sometimes death. And this-"She pointed toward the deep red liquid, "is Lantana Camara, also known as Red Sage. The berries disrupt the nerves in your brain as well as stop your heart." Minato whistled , " Wow, but why make them into a liquid?"

Sighing Suku looked up at the Hokage, " So that I can coat my senbon in poison; thus making them more deadly, because when my senbon hit my opponent the poison is injected into the body." He nodded pretending to be fascinated by it when he already knew the answers to his own questions.

" Hokage-sama I highly doubt you came over to my house to ask these pointless questions that you already know that answers to." Suku said, while dipping her senbon into the poison's she had just made.

"To the point I see, well you are correct Suku. I didn't come here to ask you these question's; I came here to see if you would like to enter the Academy." Minato replied, and for the first time he actually saw an emotion cross little Suku's face; Confusion.

"Why?" She asked looking up at the Hokage. "I don't belong with other children. They are weak, and no nothing of life."

Minato frowned a bit as he put a hand on the child's head, "Suku…" He said sadly, "Don't think of yourself superior to others; it will only be your down fall in the end. If you think of yourself as strong, then protect the weak Suku. Do not gloat in your selfishness." In the end Suku declined the offer; and Minato left , knowing that she may be one of the many he might never get the chance to save.

_-Late that night -_

A small figure stood over a lifeless body. She did not look away, tremble, or cry, as she stared into her father's dulling eyes. His body was sprawled on the ground, and his dark hair draped across his 

face. Yes, little Senshi Suku had finally killed her father. A smirk reached her face, as she no longer was an innocent child; but a true murderer.

Suku calmly walked to the door before making fake tears well up in her eyes.

'Time to start the show'

Suku ran to the hospital acting horrified and scared, making people stare as she went by. After much screaming for a doctor the six year old took many medic-nin to her father. Who had already faded from this world, into the grasps of Kami…

* * *

The Yondaime was having a nice cup of morning sake when a man rushes into his office, making him almost spill the contents from the glass.

"Hokage-sama, sorry to disturb you but I have some grave news." The medic said, " It seems that Senshi Izuko died sometime late last night."

The Hokage's eyes widened and with a snap of his fingers two Anbu arrived, " Bring me Senshi Suku here immediately. Do not harm her in anyway, understood?" Nodding the two Anbu vanished to find the last Senshi in Konoha.

The history of the Senshi clan goes back to the beginning of Konoha itself, as they were one of the first Clan's to settle down in Konoha; though the Uchiha's and the Hyuuyga's where there before the Senshi. To really understand the clan you must first understand how they fight. They were quite a strong clan, and where known for their vast knowledge of medical jutsu's, and poison's. They also were the ones that originally created the chakra Scalpel; which lets the user slice through their opponents' muscles, blood vessels and possibly more without damaging anything else. This incredibly ability, if 

properly aimed and controlled, could precisely affect the workings of the body without damaging anything else. You could use it to make any organ fail, to sever nerves, to do practically anything to someone else's body. Imagine waving your hand over someone's eyes and blinding them…

The Senshi's chakra system is split in half, one side is normal chakra for using jutsu's and the other is poisonous yellow chakra that will only harm the person that comes into contact with it. The poisonous chakra will do anything the user wants; paralyze, internal bleeding, and mess with ones brain or body functions, etcetera.

The Anbu soon appeared in the Hokage's office with Suku by their sides. She stood tall, head held high in the air, ready to receive her punishment. Minato waved his hand and the Anbu suddenly vanished leaving the two alone in the room.

"Suku, did you… kill your father?" He asked slowly, looking into her eyes. She nodded her head and said with no remorse, " I did Hokage-sama, and I will receive any punishment that you see fit. But I will never regret killing my father." Her eyes held no deceit in them, no anger, no nothing; they were cold, lifeless eyes, filled with emptiness. The Yondaime breathed a deep sigh, and began to contemplate on what exactly Senshi Suku's punishment would be.

* * *

" Class we have a new student today, her name is Senshi Suku." The teacher announced, many whispers erupted through the classroom, as he gestured toward a small girl next to him. Her dark turquoise hair touched her shoulders, and had deep piercing blue eyes. She wore normal ninja attire, a blue tank top, black cargo pants, a silver trench coat, and standard blue ninja sandals.. She stared at the class with her cold eyes; scowling she silently cursed the Hokage, hoping he would die a very painful death.

"Senshi-san, there is a open seat next to Uchiha Itachi." The teacher said pointing toward a raven-haired boy in the back.

Suku slowly walked over to the seat and sat down. The young Uchiha glanced up at her before turning his gaze back toward the front of the room. As she was sitting down a blonde haired kunoichi, Ayame, (sorry couldn't think of another name) seating in front of her turned around. She was a plump little girl, with red hair and freckles covering her face.

She pointed a meaty finger at her before, practically screaming" I don't care who you are but you better stay away from my Itachi-kun!" Suku didn't even acknowledge the fact that someone was talking to her, as she had her eyes on a medical scroll. Seeing this the fat, red headed banshee began to yell while bringing her arm back to ready to punch her, " How dare you ignore me! You little-!"

She then threw her punch at Suku, who snapped her attention to Ayame and caught the punch easily. " Shut up, you don't own him. And if you try to threaten me again," she then began to grip the banshee's wrist breaking it, which earned a satisfying scream from the girl. " I won't hesitate to kill you ." Unleashing her wrist Suku then continued to read as if nothing happened.

Weeks went by after the incident, and it was soon forgotten. Suku and Itachi began to talk to each other, each one trading training tips and jutsu's. If you were to ask what they do for fun, they would answer training. It became a game for the two, training; See who the strongest was, the fastest. And soon the two took on the name 'Prodigies'. Whenever they left their house, people whispered, and talked about them. But they didn't every truly talk about them, the people of Konoha didn't know them.

Suku and Itachi where mysteries the them as they advanced through the Academy; mastering anything the teachers gave them. It was funny how two seven year olds where smarter and stronger than a class of twelve year olds. The pair had become friends as they advanced together, each acknowledging each other as equal's. So it was only fate that when it came for the two to graduate from the Academy that they were put on a two-man team. The student's had been uneven at the time and had put the two on a team, seeing as Itachi was the only one Suku tolerated. No one dared talk ill of Suku, or Itachi within a hearing distance since the little upset when Suku first enter the academy.

Haru-Sensei drowned on as he called out the teams. All the student's listened intently as they waited for their name to be called hoping to be on the same team as their friends. Well that is all except two, Itachi and Suku. Who where both reading scrolls about Katon Jutsu's (Itachi) and Human anatomy (Suku).

"Team 4 will be: Uchiha Itachi, and Senshi Suku. Sensei will be Shiranui Genma. Okay, now that you have been placed on your team's please wait for your sensei's to come." Many Jounin came and got their students before Genma arrived to pick them up. He was dressed in normal Jounin attire, but his forehead protecter was like a bandanna, and he had a senbon in his mouth as he spoke, "Team 4, meet me at training field 24 in ten minutes." He then proofed away, leaving his two students behind. Nodding to each other, both Suku and Itachi silently got up and left for the training field.

"Hello you two." Genma said as they arrived at the training field. Continuing Genma said, "Originally, I was supposed to test you about your teamwork, but if what the Hokage told me is true I won't need to. As you two get along quite well," Sighing Genma looked at the two who just stood listening before continuing, " But, I still need to know all your skill's, weak points, and your personality. So let's properly introduce ourselves. I will go first, my name is Shiranui Genma. I specialize in pressure points and weapons, though I am not really good at Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. My likes are training, my friends, my Senbon's, and Konoha. Dislikes are being late, traitors, and arrogant ninja who think they are better than everyone else."

He then pointed and said, "Alright, ladies first." Scowling at her new teacher she began, "My name is Senshi Suku. I specialize in poison, Taijutsu, medical jutsu, and weapons. I am not really good at Genjutsu . I like to train with Itachi, tend to my personal garden , learning about new poison, and medical jutsu. I dislike arrogant civilians / Shinobi, loud annoying Kunoichi with no talent and weak Shinobi in general. "

'She's…interesting, at least she has potential.' Switching his senbon to the other side of his mouth, Genma then nodded to his other student to begin.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi. I Specialize in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, weak point taijutsu. I like pocky, and training with Suku. What I dislike is none of your concern." Suku scowled once again as she heard Itachi's introduction. Calmly, Genma gathered his thoughts about his two students. 'Suku will work well with senbon and pressure points sense she is a medic-nin. I can help Itachi with his taijutsu and get him a weapon also. All in all, I can make them well rounded Shinobi that would put a circle to shame.' Satisfied with his analysis, Genma then begun their training.

**I did change a lot of the things in this chapter. But I hope it was better than before. Please, review. Just click one more button and tell me what you think. It doesn't matter whether you liked it or not, just tell me what you thought about it; so I can make future chapters better. Thanks for reading! **


	2. Training and Missions

Death's Hand- Chapter 2: Training and Missions

I DONT OWN NARUTO!! But I do own Senshi Suku and any other character I make up.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep... SMASH_

_Stupid alarm clock, _Rubbing some sleep out of my eyes I checked the time on my now demolished alarm clock. 5:00 AM,

' _I have about twenty minutes to get ready.'_ Slipping off my bed I sluggishly walk into the bathroom and grab a hair brush off the counter. I stared at myself for a few moments, looking at my messy turquoise hair, cold piercing blue eyes that always seemed to analyze everything, and my small body that had a nice build from training. Sighing, I turned away and quickly brushed the knots out of my hair before washing my face and brushing my teeth. Now fully awake, I briskly changed into my normal training attire, a gray t-shirt , black cargo pants, and black ninja sandals. I checked to make sure I had my weapons before grabbing an apple and leaving the house.

I arrived at the training ground early, though I wasn't surprised to see Itachi already there. He was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, as I walked over to the tree and sat down.

"Morning," I greeted while taking out one of my many medic scrolls. Itachi nodded in my direction before resuming his previous position against the tree. A comfortable silence washed over us, being around Itachi as much as I have you sort of get used to it. In fact, I liked the silence there was no distraction's and it helped me think more clearly. I quickly finished reading the scroll, and put it away.

" How long have you been here?" I inquired. It was silent for a few seconds before he responded, " Sense 5:00." Nodding I gathered my thoughts and was about to reply when a puff of white smoke appeared in the middle of the training ground. The smoke soon dissipated revealing our sensei, Genma.

"Good morning guys. Today we are going to work on your teamwork." Itachi and I both stood up and greeted our sensei and listened as he continued, "Suku is a close-ranged fighter as well as a medic. Where as she is skilled in taijutsu she lacks in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, Itachi however, is a long-ranged fighter and is skilled in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu but lacks in taijutsu. So where one of you lacks the other is skilled, you complete each other." I nodded my head seeing the logic in what he was saying. Itachi and I could help each other out so that we won't lack in any areas. "But before we work on your teamwork, we are going to do some warm-ups. 5 laps around Konoha, then 75 push-ups, sit-ups, and a mile swim. I will accompany you on your run. Alright, let's go."

The run didn't take the three of us long and we soon started on our push-ups and sit-ups. It was the mile swim that took longer. I was nervous at first about taking my clothes off but it turned out we had to swim in them. _Note to self: don't wear a t-shirt to training. _When we finally finished it was around 8:00 (a.m.) and we started our teamwork training. We learned how to synchronize our attacks so that they are more destructive or do more damage to our opponent(s). It took up till 12:00 to perfect our teamwork. " Alright, why don't we stop for some lunch, how's dango's sound?" I shrugged; it didn't matter to me as I'm not really a picky person when it came to food. Itachi merely nodded, as the three of us left the training ground in search for some dango's.

It didn't take long to find a dango shop, and soon we were seated and ready to order. We all ordered a large plate of dango's. As we sat in silence I looked around the small shop, noticing many Shinobi present. _ Must be one of those ninja only restaurants. _

"Genma!" We turned our gaze to see a woman with purple hair wearing ahem only fish net, shirt and a tan trench coat. "Hey Anko, how you been?" The two chatted back and forth for a few minutes before she noticed Itachi and I. "Well Genma, it looks like the rumors where true. You have become a sensei again! Congrat's on having some snotty brats to look after!" Her sarcasm was clear, and I was beginning 

to not like this loud, brash women. _This conversation is pointless_, I soon grew bored and took out a scroll on how to read people. I wasn't sure when the woman known as Anko, left as I didn't pay any attention to her; though when our food arrived I swiftly placed the scroll back in one of my many pockets. As we ate, Genma-sensei started talking about the missions we will be receiving. " The Hokage has decided that you two won't be doing to regular D-rank missions that other genin will be doing. Instead you will be doing two C-rank missions a day depending on how long the mission will take. This leaves more time for me to train you both. I will warn you though C-rank missions often turn into higher ranked ones. So be prepared for anything no matter how small the mission is." _No matter how small the mission be prepared for anything…_The phrase ran through my mind over and over, it seemed reluctant to leave as we left the shop and arrived at the Hokage tower for our mission.

* * *

The Young Namikaze glanced at team 4 as they walked through the door, which consisted of Shiranui Genma as team leader, Uchiha Itachi, and Senshi Suku. He had a great deal of interest in this team from the beginning. Genma has had a genin team before and they are some of his best Shinobi now. Uchiha Itachi he has always been impassive and emotionless which worried the Hokage to no end. Last Senshi Suku, ever sense she joined team 4 her attitude had changed for the beeter. Taking a s deep breath, the Hokage pulled out a piece of paper from the c-ranked mission pile. "Team 4, your first mission is to get rid of some wolf's that are terrorizing a small village. You have three days to complete the mission. Do you have any questions?" Hearing none the Hokage dismissed the team.

* * *

"We will meet at the south gate in thirty minutes." I nodded in understanding before jumping from roof to roof to the Senshi Estate. My house or Estate isn't all that big compared to the Uchiha's or the Huuyga's. It was however located a few blocks away from the Uchiha Estate. My house had only 

two wings in the house. They are small, nothing big. Just eight bedrooms, and three bathrooms on one side, then the kitchen, living room, scroll room, and dining room are on the other side. Seriously, compared to other estates this is tiny. I arrived quickly and went into my bedroom to grab my extra clothes, weapons, and medical supplies, along with some sealing scrolls with some books to read. I looked around my room to see if I was missing anything, and came to the conclusion that I wasn't. Leaping out of my window, I quickly made my way to the south gate.

As I arrived at the south gate I noticed that I was the last one there, though I wasn't late.

Genma-sensei motioned for Itachi and I to come closer so he could explain the plan. "Alright guys, here is the plan, I know we are just getting rid of some wolfs but if we get ambushed or something we need a plan. Okay, if I get separated from you guys Itachi is in charge, kay' Suku." I nodding in understanding as he continued, "Now if one of you guys get lost flare up your chakra and we will be able to find you." I nodded again, I liked the feeling of security the backup plan provided. Though I couldn't help but think that I might somehow screw up, or fail my first mission, or cause my teammate and sensei to get hurt or worse die… Itachi seemed to know what was running through my head, as he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. It was nice, his touch was warm and comforting, it seemed to melt away all my self-doubt, and nervousness. _What is this feeling? This warmth spreading through my body?_ _I don't know what it is but…I like it…and I want to feel it more often… _ I felt a small smile come across my face as I looked up slightly into Itachi's (he is a few inches taller) eyes. Though there was no smile on his face, his eyes showed his smile. _Itachi, one day I will see your beautiful smile on your face _. I nodded my head, whispering thanks so only Itachi could hear. Genma watched the whole scene quietly, not wanting to interrupt this rare moment of friendship between the two.

* * *

We arrived at the small village within a few hours, the sun was still high in the sky as we began to ask around of the whereabouts of the wolfs. We were told by many that they dwell in a cave near the village. It was the best lead they had so far, so we started in the direction the cave was supposed to be in. The direction's the villagers had given them led them straight to the mouth of a large cave, with a small water fall in front of it. "Alright guys, we are going to draw out the wolves from the cave so we can take care of them out in the open." Nodding Itachi, Genma and I flared our chakra hoping the wolves would come and investigate. Sure enough moments later four black wolves emerged from the mouth of the cave. They stared at us for a few moments before what looked like the leader opened its mouth and started talking to the other three wolves. _Something's off, wolves can't talk_.

Then the leader growled at us showing his rows and rows of sharp teeth. Snapping it shut like he was ripping flesh , he rushed at us with the intent to kill. "The leader the mine! You guys take the other three!" Genma-sensei then engaged the leader while Itachi and I went after the other three. "Itachi, distract them while I get behind them." I voiced softly. Nodding he made some hand seals ending in a tiger seal. I jumped into the trees and made my way behind the three beasts. I waited for a moment before charging blue chakra into my hand and rushing behind the wolves. I quickly touched the wolves' hind legs making them useless. All three wolves fell awkwardly while growling at me with their sharp canine teeth. I jumped over to Itachi who was ready to finish them off with a kunai to the heart. I grabbed two kunai and with a quick snap of my wrist they soared threw the air lodging deep into the wolf's heart. I expected to see blood but as soon as the kunai hit the wolves they disappeared in…smoke? _Smoke! They are summons!_

"They are summons, so where is the summoner?" I questioned, while looking around.

"Suku, let's try to find his chakra signature." Itachi suggested while he began to search for his chakra. I nodded and replied, "Itachi, I don't think that will be necessary." I pointed to the mouth of the cave where a man emerged from the cave. Itachi followed my gaze and saw the man. He was young around 

his early twenties, slight build and a headband from Kumo with a scratch across it. Signifying he was a missing-nin, and we had no idea what his skill level was or skills. "Well, well well. Look what we have here, children. Mmm kids are always so fun to play with. Especially the girls…." He looked at me with a gaze that frightened me to no end. My mind began to wrap itself around what he was thinking. I suddenly found myself shaking in fear as I repeated it over and over in my head. _He's going to rape me!_

Itachi knew what the sick man was planning and he wasn't going to let it happen. He looked over a Suku who was shaking with fear. Suku slowly turned her gaze over to Itachi, fear and sorrow were clear in her eyes. "Suku, you need to calm down. Suku!"

_No…No…what do I do? Fight back? Ha he's a missing nin what can I do to him? He's twice my size I won't be able to get away. Maybe I should just kill myself and spare myself the pain…_ I slowly reached for my kunai but stopped _what would Itachi think? _I slowly turned my head to look at Itachi, who was looking at me. "Suku, you need to calm down. Suku!" I grabbed the kunai instantly and plunged it into my left arm. (She is right handed)_ Dammit I missed. _I hissed in pain as I dug it deeper into my arm, hopping I would go into shock then die.

"Will ya look at that. She is so afraid she is willing to kill herself… then my fun will be ruined and we can't let that happen can we?" I saw him rush to me with a kunai in hand. I closed my eyes hopping I would go into shock soon. The pain, fear, and doubt where gone when I opened my eyes. Itachi stood in front of me the man's kunai lodged into his left shoulder. "I-Itachi?" My previous emotion's where gone instantly replaced with anger I had never felt before. "You!" I yelled, while yellow chakra surrounded my hands. Tears streamed down my face as I jumped high in the air and flipped over him and Itachi. (Who was on his knees) Landing behind him I tapped his spine, paralyzing him. "What did you do to me! You stupid bitch!"

Ignoring him as I ran toward Itachi who was breathing heavily, and losing blood quickly, "Itachi, you are going to be fine. Just eat this pill." I fished through my bag for a blood clotting pill, which I quickly found. He opened his mouth and swallowed the pill dry. The pill took immediate affect as the blood stopped flowing out of his wound. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes as green chakra engulfed my hand. I concentrated on repairing the torn tissue, nerves that had been hit, and closing up the stab wound. With a hissing sound the gash closed up and utterly disappeared. "You will be a little sore." I explained trying to hid my fatigue and dizziness.

"Thanks," Itachi replied while stretching his arm out. "Genma-sensei, why don't you come out now," He called out. Slowly a figure emerged from the shadow of the trees. "You where here the whole time, yet you didn't do anything to help!?" I yelled taking a step toward Genma-sensei. Big mistake. As my vision blurred I let myself slip away into unconsciousness. It was warm, inviting and most of all I felt no pain.

"Will she be alright?" A young male voice asked.

"Yes, she should be waking up soon." An older voice said though it was defiantly female. I heard a sigh of…relief? "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." _Tsunade! No way! _ I jolted up right, only to have a searing pain in my shoulder "Oww…" I opened my eyes to see an amused woman, and a concerned Itachi. Itachi was concerned about me… why? The memories of the fight with the Kumo missing-nin flooded back to her. _Why oh why did I stick a kunai in my shoulder? Jeez that was stupid!_ "Ahem, well you will need some rest to take it easy." She began to walk out of the room when I yelled to her, " Are you really Tsunade?" She laughed softly then answered sadly, " No, I'm not. Your friend over there thought it might wake you up. I'm sorry."

The women left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. I sighed and laid back down on the uncomfortable hospital bed. I squirmed a bit to find a comfortable position, but failed miserably. _Oh well_ "How is your shoulder Itachi?" I asked. He turned his head toward me and replied, " Fine, though I should be asking you the same thing." His voice was somewhat harsh that indicated he was mad. I looked down, ashamed of what I did. "I'm sorry, Itachi…I shouldn't have tried to kill myself. You wouldn't have been stabbed and I wouldn't be in the spital. And everything would be alright right now."

I lifted my head and gazed into his eyes hoping that I could read his expression. I failed as his eyes where cold and emotionless, along with his face. Sighing again I turned my head and looked out the window. Small rain drops had begun to hit the windowsill. The soft and repetitive pitter patter noise was calm and controlled; there was no rumbling or fierce strike's of light, as I sat in my small hospital bed alone; curled up in a ball, I let the silent tears slide down my face. Any warmth of love and happiness left my body, replaced by the cold, anger and emptiness that left a gap in my heart that could never be healed.

* * *

**Is that any longer? Well let me know if you want me to make the chapter's longer. xD**


	3. Conflict and Understanding

Hello my faithful readers! I am going to start school soon so the updates might come a little later than usual. I'll try my best to get them up. Oh! And Itachi will be slightly different from now one. Alright well, on with the story!

Conflict and Understanding

**(A couple months after the first c-ranked mission, both are chuunin and are 8 yrs old)**

Itachi POV

How could one girl make me feel this way? There was something about her that melted away all of my coldness and brought all my emotion's to life. I had felt anger, the burning sensation rippling throughout my body when that Kumo-nin said he wanted to rape Suku. I had wanted to tear him to shreds in the most painful way possible. A couple days later I felt guilt. I was so confused at the time as to why I had been anger and it kind of scared me. So, I was cold to Suku through all my confusion. In return she lost all her emotions, and all that warmth she had brought to me. The despair I felt was excruciating, knowing I was the cause of her all of her pain. Genma-sensei was worried about Suku, everyone knew it as did Suku herself. She no longer smiled (though only Genma and Itachi saw her smile before) and never seemed to enjoy training like she used too. I wanted to apologize so bad. Tell her that this was all my fault and I would do anything to see her smile again. But how could I? How?!

A little voice in the back of my head, maybe my conscious , _Maybe you should just talk to her…_ I was about to reject the idea immediately and think nothing of it, but something told me that I should at least try. Okay, I will try…

Suku was a hard person to find. She was almost never home, always out doing missions. I guess I wasn't that different..but anyways. So the first place I went to was the Hokage Tower hoping he could tell me if she was on a mission or not. I reached the Hokage tower quickly; the trip was a blur I didn't concentrate on where I was going.

* * *

"Ahh, Itachi what can I do for you?" The fire shadow sat behind his desk sorting through some papers, that looked like new mission. "Hokage-sama, sorry to have barged in like this but I need to ask you something." Minato nodded to me for me to continue so I did, "I would like to know if Suku is on a mission. If not, could you tell me where she is?" I was careful to sound respectful and not make it sound like a demand or an order. He closed his eyes for a moment before responded, "Tell me Itachi, what use would this information be to you? This conversation is between just the two of us I assure you." I nodded thinking, What was I planning to do? Just walk up to her and _say "I'm sorry for being such a jerk. Please don't be emotionless anymore."_ Ha not happening.

"Hokage-sama, I swear, I will make things better. How, I'm not sure but I will." I dropped to one knee, bowing before the Hokage showing my sincerity. "I hope you can Itachi. I am very fond of Suku and I'm displeased to see her in pain and despair at such a young age. I will tell you where she is. Itachi I really hope you do secede." I nodded and stood up. He was really going to tell me, and then I could make everything okay again. " Suku is not on any mission's. She hasn't been on many sense becoming Chuunin. She is apprenticed to …Mitarashi Anko. The two train regularly in the forest of death." I nodded again, quickly saying thank you before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, heading toward the Forest of Death.

* * *

Using shunshin I was able to get to the forest in a few minutes. Should I wait here? Or go to the building in the center? Deciding they would most likely be in the center, I jumped over the fence and began tree jumping to the building. I had only been in the forest for about ten minutes before I was attacked by oversized animals that looked like they shouldn't even be that size. I hastily killed them, eager to continue my search for Suku. She wasn't hard to fine, all you had to do was follow the crashing noise of trees and jutsu's. Though when I reached the clearing no one was insight, but the destruction was. Trees snapped cleaning in half or down the middle, scorch marks of a fire jutsu where evident, as were the dying bushes and trees that looked like the life was sucked out of them.

"Well, look what we have here Suku. It's Itachi, isn't he your teammate?" Anko and Suku emerged from the other side of the clearing, they walked with grace that seemed to scream dangerous and beautiful at the same time. Suku's appearance hadn't changed much, her hair had grown a little longer and she was a few inches taller than before. I expected her reply to be cold, and she didn't disappoint me. "_Used_ to," Her voice emphasized on the first words, while the rest dripped with venom as she continued, " He is a Leaf Shinobi I happened to be on the same team with." She stood tall not faltering once as she spoke. Her voice held no emotion and she revealed none as she spoke. Fine, two can play that game. "Suku-"

"Uchiha, have no right to call me by my name. I am Senshi to you." I inwardly flinched. Ouch that hurt. A little. Okay, a lot. But, I didn't show it. I stood with my face cold, and warming up with rage fast. The familiar warm sensation of anger, took over as I activated my Sharingan. "Senshi, I came to talk." She rolled her eyes, while her hand began to glow yellow. Anko looked from Suku's hand to my eyes and sighed, "Go for it Suku. Just don't hurt him too much." Having the permission of her sensei she didn't waste any time as she disappeared. I felt the wind shift and I ducked away from her kick. I knew her weakness she knew mine. As Genma-sensei once said we complete each other, but I had no idea what she learned from Anko. I didn't have any more time to think as she was upon me again. I could easily see her rage, though it didn't blind her like it did most people. Was she…controlling it and feeding off it for strength?

It didn't matter as I began hand seals for a Katon jutsu; it flew toward her but she easily dogged it. We were playing with each other, assessing each other's skill level. I knew engaging with taijutsu was suicide. Genjutsu, that's her worst area. I created a Genjutsu, and I disappeared before her eyes. Her eyes widened for a moment before calming down and biting her lip. The crimson liquid flowed down her chin and the Genjutsu broke. Fine, try and brake out of this. I began many hand seals for my complicated Genjutsu. I didn't get to finish as she was upon me once again. Her glowing yellow hand tapped me and I felt all my strength leave as I fell to my knees. The pain of your strength being taken away unwillingly was…. agonizing.

"Suku! That's enough!" The blurry yellow began to fade from her hand as it coiled around my neck, constricting my air. I didn't struggle to get out of her grasp. Her eyes winded in surprise,

"Why don't you fight? Are you willing to give up your life so easily?" I coughed and struggled to get the words out,

" I…don't fight…because…I didn't come..here to…cough…hurt you." Her grip loosened a bit so I could talk more freely though it was still strong.

"Tell me then, _Uchiha_ why did you come here?" My eyes hardened a bit, I didn't like to be associated with those arrogant fools.

I gasped for air before I replied, "I came here, like I said before, to talk to you." Suku's grip tightened around my throat making me cough again.

"What is there to talk about? We could have talked before but you where so DAMN stupid, thinking I was nothing and pushing me aside . Even when I apologized you ignored me!" Tears reached her eyes as she spoke. I coughed once more before I spoke, "I'm sorry. I was confused….you made me feel emotion's again…and…it scared me." A hand laid on Suku's shoulder and she dropped me. "Suku…" Anko warned, her warning fell on deaf ears as Suku wasn't listening to her. She glared at me so intensely it almost burned. My breathing became easy now, though it didn't help the pain I felt in my chest. I tried, and failed…miserably. This was supposed to make things better, but now I wasn't sure. My vision blurred for a few moments, then I felt a cool sensation wash over me. I looked up as Suku's hands glowed green and began to heal my broken ribs and bruised neck. I tried to smile but the black pool of darkness had already consumed me.

* * *

If he hadn't been so stupid and just told me what was bothering him then we could have fixed this. But, no! Brainless Itachi had to figure things out on his own and never ask for help. This could have all been prevented! Well whatever, I guess I can forgive him. That is if he wakes up anytime soon. Itachi had been sleeping for the past twelve hours! I didn't hurt him that bad did I?

I looked down at Itachi, steadily breathing and healed completely. He slept in one of the many beds in the tower in the forest of death. Anko-sensei and I, stay here most of the time during our training. I had only been apprenticed to her for a couple months, and she already felt like an older sister. (Anko is around 18) When I first met her in the dango shop with my team, I hadn't liked her. But, I learned that I shouldn't judge people right away. As I got to know her, I learned that there is a different person behind her loud, brash front. We got along well, Anko and I. I absorbed all that she taught me, and I even taught her a few medical techniques. My knowledge of poisons, and cures grew as did my personal garden.

I even found a Taijutsu master in Konoha named, Maito Gai. He was weird to say the least but his taijutsu was the best. He taught me how to make my moves stronger, faster, and more efficient. Gai-sensei was a good teacher; we would spar and he would stop the fight completely, sometimes, and have me correct my hands and footing. Our training soon stopped as he would get long missions and he would be away for a long period time. So, I went to find Genma-sensei, and he taught me more advanced pressure points. He was pleased to see me using senbon as my weapon of choice. But that had stopped a week ago, and I was left to my only one sensei Anko.

"Hey, is he up yet?" Anko, who I guess had walked in, asked. I shook my head, "No, but I intend to wake him up." I walked over to him, and concentrated chakra to my hand. Almost immediately my hand began to glow blue. I taped his forehead with two fingers, and his eyes flickered open. "Where am I?" Itachi began to look around the unfamiliar room; his eyes went from the window, the door, Anko, and lastly me. I noticed how his eyes softened a bit when he looked at me, his black coal eyes not as cold. Did they have warmth in them?

"Itachi, you are in the center building of the Forest of Death. Suku brought you here as well as healed you." Anko walked closer to the bed Itachi was sitting in as she spoke, "You are to reveal nothing you saw today. Suku's new technique is to be kept a secret." I nodded my head in agreement, and I 

continued where she left off, "The Hokage has informed me that Kumo ninja have been spotted close to the fire country border. He is not sure yet but, he thinks they are spies looking for information on his best ninja." I could tell Itachi was thinking, as his eyes where unfocused on one thing as I spoke. He remained silent for a few minutes before turning his head looking straight into my eyes. "Suku, are you still angry?" I held his gaze while speaking, "No, I'm not angry. I was earlier and I'm not going to apologize for what I did to you." I saw Anko-sensei leave the room out of the corner of my eye as I answered Itachi's question. He quietly sighed in relief before speaking again, "You don't need to." It was silent for a few seconds before I spoke, "Itachi, you slept for twelve hours. Have you gotten any sleep these past few days?" He didn't speak, staring in one spot trying to avoiding my eyes.

I growled in annoyance. Why won't he answer the simple question? It wasn't hard! Calm down Suku I told myself…I took a few deep breaths just like Anko had taught me. Okay, let's try the calm approach. "Itachi," I said quietly, hopping he would answer me. Instead he turned his head and gazed into my eyes. "Suku, if I tell you. You have to promise not to interrupt me." I nodded silently showing I was listening, "I will have to start from the beginning. You won't understand if I don't. When I was born, I guess I showed great promise. My parents were confused when I was walking earlier than I should have, and I learned things quicker than others. My father, Fugaku, began to teach me in the ninja arts when I was four. He never thought of me as a son. Never treated me like one or spoke to me like one. My mother was kind, and tried to tell me that he loved me. But I knew better, he didn't love her nor me. However, I am getting off track.

I hardly ever spoke, I was a watcher. I would often escape the house, and watch all the people. I questioned why men and women held weapons in the street, and why children played carelessly in the street. I was always asking questions my childish mind could not find the answers to. People referred to me as _the prodigy _or something along those lines. They pampered me, thinking that's what I wanted. 

When I entered the academy, it was no different. Girls swooned over me, and boy's where jealous and some teacher's favored me. I had no desire to have any friends. Why would I be friends with these weak people when one day they will die? I had asked myself this question that is until you joined the class. Suku, you intrigued me to no end. Never had I seen a girl be as strong as you, "I blushed slightly as he spoke, " All the girls in my class had no desire to be strong, they where fan-girls through and through. You, on the other hand, where strong and I thought of you as a friend all through our academy months, as when we were genin. My family has been putting a lot of pressure on me to do more missions, especially my father. Suku, it was never my intention to hurt you, because all my life I was taught to be the perfect Shinobi, to be emotionless. So when you brought my emotions back to life, I was scared. Why where these emotions' back when I thought I had long killed them? Do you now understand Suku?"

I let all the information soak in for a moment. His life wasn't that different from mine… I could relate to some of the things he said in his short summary of his life. I understand him… "Itachi, I do understand. I know what you are feeling right now." He stilted his head to the side in confusion, "You do?" I nodded and I slowly began my summary of my life.

* * *

Itachi and Suku talked for hours, each one enjoying the others company. Both didn't realize till later on in their life that, they each brought warmth and happiness into one another's lives. They might not have noticed, but others around them did. The two were smiling, laughing, and being kids. It sadden them, the adults (Genma, Anko, Minato, Gai), that the pair were only happy when it was just the two of them together. But, they couldn't complain as the two were genuinely happy, and happiness doesn't come often to young prodigies.

* * *

_I always knew your smile was beautiful Itachi…_

* * *


	4. Finally

_**Hey everyone! From now on, I will have some kind of quote in the beginning of the chapter that has something to do with the current chapter. At the end of the chapter you might be know what to quote meant. Suku and Itachi are 11 yrs old! Anyways enjoy!**_

* * *

_When two friends understand each other totally, the words of love are soft and strong like an orchid's perfume._- _Tse, King_

Weeks went by as Itachi and I threw ourselves into missions after being promoted to Jounin. We soon became the hot topic around Konoha as our reputation grew. Many civilian women began to gossip about the relationship Itachi and I had. It became quite annoying actually, as there was nothing going on between Itachi and I. Whatever. Let those good-for- nothing women think what they want.

I quickly weaved my way through the crowded streets toward the Uchiha Estate. I was meeting Itachi's family today, it is weird how I have known him sense the academy and yet I never met his family. Itachi wasn't too happy when he asked me to come; I could easily tell he was forced to invite me. And from the way he talked about his family I really didn't want to come either . I laughed a bit at the memory; he truly had a look of pure disgust on his face as he talked; he seemed to curse the very clan he was born into. He had once told me that if the clan was to be wiped out, he wouldn't miss a single one of them. (AN: Not even Sasuke. He hates sasuke.) His statement didn't surprise me, as I had met some of the Uchiha's on missions; and they truly where arrogant bastards.

As the Uchiha District came into view the sickly feeling of reality hit me. I had to put up an act for these people. These pig headed people would look down on me... and think they are superior to me. I saw Itachi waiting for me at the front gate of the compound. His face emotionless at first but soon softened when he saw me. I didn't smile; the ill feeling still in the pit of my stomach, "Do I have to be nice?" I heard him sigh, "Just be polite. I don't want to do this anymore than you do. It will be over before you know it."(**Suggest you listen to Snow by Vitamin Quartet **) Itachi lightly squeezed my 

shoulder as we began to walk through the gardens that lead to the front door. My hand seemed to move on its own as it softly grasped Itachi's own hand. Our fingers intertwined, fitting perfectly together. The ill feeling began to recede and new warmth took over my body. (1) The warmth I had felt before our first mission seemed petty compared to the heat that rushed to my face; It rippled through out my body, and I couldn't help but smile up at Itachi. He returned it with his own smile that sparked in his eyes.

I gasped softly as his hand gently cupped my check. Instinctively, I stepped closer toward him, our bodies only inches away. I suddenly desired, no needed to be close to him. The feeling grew stronger, till I couldn't bare it any more. I closed the distance between our bodies. I embraced him fitting perfectly into his body the way two puzzle pieces would. Itachi slowly wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me closer toward him.

We stood hugging each other in the gardens for what seemed like hours. Our rising and falling chests matched perfectly. Our hearts beating so fast yet as one. Frozen in time, as nothing else mattered but each other.

We eventually went inside the compound, much to my disappointment. Itachi's mother, Mikoto, had greeted us with a warm smile that seemed lifeless compared to Itachi's smile in the garden. Despite that, I greeted her politely and bowed slightly. Mikoto waved the formalities' off, and led us into the dining room where the rest of the family was. She began to introduce everyone to me, and I got the feeling I wasn't welcome in the house. A few of the older adults had the nerve to glare at me, and I glared back making them flinch.

The Uchiha family was different from other families I had seen before. It was a formal family; there was no laughing at the table or casual talk. If it wasn't related to the Police Force, Ninja, or the clan it wasn't discussed at the table. The males of the family had made it crystal clear that they thought women had no place on the battle field; and that we are just breeders. My 

temper flared as soon as the words left their mouths. A smirk was plastered on their faces; just waiting for me to start a fight but I wasn't that stupid. I wouldn't play this trivial game for their own amusement. I was impassive, like Itachi, for the remainder of the night. I was just a presence, never talking, just observing in the shadows, just like the tool I was.

The night finally ended and I was free from the dark, corrupted house hold. I truly felt bad for Itachi. Having to live with those people every day…it was overwhelming just being there one night. I swiftly left the house with Itachi. The night air was crisp and welcoming as we ran through the village. Our destination was out in the Konoha forest, where our 'secret' spot was. It was a small river with a cave underneath the waterfall. We had found it when we were coming back from a mission when we were still genin. The secluded waterfall was illuminated by the full moon's radiating light. "Wow…" I breathed; Itachi nodded his head as he began lifting his shirt. Confused, I asked, "What are you doing?"

He laughed softly, " I didn't just come here to look at it. Get in Suku." I raised one eye brow but complied. I tugged my shirt off showing my flat stomach. I kept my bandages on under my shirt, as well as my spandex shorts. Itachi was waiting for me with only his cargo pants on. I smirked as I stealthily made my way over to him. He seemed preoccupied, and I sprung my trap. I jumped onto his back, and taking him by surprise, we both fall face first into the water. I don't think I remember laughing so hard in my life; the look on Itachi's face was priceless. Then of course Itachi wanted revenge, and the wrestling in the water began.

"This is nice…" I whispered as Itachi and I laid down on the grass, our previous wrestling match ending in a draw. "I don't think I have had this much fun sense our Genin days." He nodded slowly before speaking, " Suku, about earlier…" I raised my head looking over at him 'Was he going to apologize for what happened in the garden?'

"It was well…amazing. I have never felt so happy to be alive in my life. Ever sense I met you Suku, I have changed. You have changed me. I..Well…um…" He seemed to stumble for the word's which was very unlike him. He stood up thinking, I successful repressed my laughter with a smile as I got up. He finally created the words of which he tried so desperately to find, "What I'm trying to say is Suku…I love you." My eyes widened, 'what did he just say?' All these years of wanting to know mothers warm touch, a kiss on the head, to be told 'well done' and…to be loved. And here I was standing in front of Itachi who…loved me. I finally had someone who loved me; Tears of joy treaded down my face, 'Finally'. I threw myself into Itachi's arms, making us both fall to the ground and our faces inches away from each other.

"I love you too" I whispered, it was barely audible as I stared into his glistening eyes. He gently cupped my face with his soft hand that radiated warmth. I felt the need to be close to him well up inside of me. The intense feeling almost pulling me toward him, though it wasn't painful; I gave in to the need, and I slowly leaned forward and pressed my lips gently into his; not moving, or forceful just waiting for him to react. After 3 seconds, Itachi lips moved against mine. He tasted like sweet strawberry pocky, with a hint of cinnamon. It was intoxicated, and it made me want more of him. I pulled my body closer to his, as he wrapped his arm around my waist. The need to be close to him came back and filled my stomach with butterflies.

Our lips parted as the air filled our lungs, and after a minute we were able to get our breathing under-control, but our racing hearts continued to dance on refusing to stop loving. I smiled as I heard Itachi's heart beating perfectly in sync with mine. I shifted my position so that my back was on his chest and my head on his shoulders. A small breeze blew by our waterfall making me shiver. But I didn't care about the cold, I was with Itachi and that's all that mattered in my eyes.

* * *

Itachi and Suku ended up falling asleep against a tree near the waterfall, both clinging to each other, afraid to let go.

The smiling Fire Shadow of Konoha looked down at the scene in his crystal ball. He knew putting them together would benefit everyone, especially Suku and Itachi themselves. But, the Professor realized that the two wouldn't be able to have many more moments like this. As a bird carrier had arrived carrying a message this morning that made the tan Hokage pale instantly.

Kumogarkure had declared war against Konoha.

* * *

**It is kind of short so sorry about that, but I just felt like writing a sort of love scene between the two. Review! I want to know what you thought of the chapter!!**


	5. Tolerance and Shock

I fixed the time line. Sorry about that, it was a small mistake but it kind of through off my whole story. I did add a few things, but it was necessary. Also, the killing of Obito might not be the same; and that's all I am going to say on that subject. **I also want to thank RozenMaiden14 for the review! Your review drove me to write more chapters. So thank you so much!**

Please read and review, it doesn't matter if you loved it or hated it; let me know so that I can make future chapters better. Itachi and Suku are both 11, Kakashi is 13.

Anyways, here it!

Death's Hand 死の手 Chapter 5- Tolerance

* * *

_The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on. - Ulysses S. Grant _

Konohagakure, one of the strongest villages in the Five Elemental Nation's, once carefree, and quiet was now busy preparing for war. Spies had been sent all over the nation, trying to obtain information on when and how Kumo would attack. Ninja's doubled their training and began working on new techniques for the upcoming battles. Some even set aside mission's, which left other's with double the mission's.

"Kakashi, report," The tired Yondaime commanded, as Hatake Kakashi and Senshi Suku arrived back from their mission. The day had been long and tiring, and he still had another meeting to go to.

The young Hatake nodded and began his report, "We found the five Kumo-nin crossing into fire country. They were indeed spies, but they were quickly taken care of by Senshi and I with no difficulty . We scouted the area for more ninja, but found none."

Nodding in satisfaction of his report Minato began debriefing him on his next mission, "You, Suku, and Hyuuga Masaki are to travel to Earth Country, and deliver this scroll to the Tsuchikage; and bring back his reply. I don't think I need to stress how important this mission is. Also Kakashi, you will be the leader on this mission." After concluding his briefing he dismissed the two ninja's.

Suku and Kakashi had been doing many missions together lately. But Suku didn't mind, it was nice having someone along during the long missions. The two would only talk when it was necessary but, they began to feel comfortable around each other. Kakashi reminded Suku of Itachi; they were skilled, quiet, mysterious, and let's not forget hot…Suku quietly laughed at the idea of Itachi being jealous; now that would be funny.

"We will meet at the main gate tomorrow morning at five o'clock. Sharp." Kakashi said with a sigh, as they split up the go their separate ways. They were both exhausted, Suku the most. She walked slowly home, almost dragging her feet. Her eyes drooped, threatening to let sleep consume her. But soon the familiar walkway to her house came into view.

Smiling she opened the door, while flicking on the lights. The sudden burst of light made Suku stumbled foreword and SMACK. The tired kunoichi failed to see the closed door in front of her, thus resulting in her painfully falling to the ground. "Ow…that hurt." She mumbled, as she lay on the cold wooden floors. Suku laid there for a few minutes before picking herself up, and this time opening the door to her bedroom. Stumbling once again into her bedroom, she didn't bother taking her ninja clothes off as she plopped down on her bed; letting sleep consume her almost instantly.

* * *

Suku arrived at the main gate at 4:50 (am) to see Kakashi, and Masaki waiting for her. She managed to mumble a 'morning' to the pair, before taking a solider pill out from her bag. Popping it into 

her mouth, she began to feel her lack of energy begin to refill; she then threw one to Kakashi. He raised an eyebrow but swallowed the pill none the less. Finally ready, the trio left in an arrow formation: Kakashi point, Suku flanking his right, and Masaki flanking his left. Masaki, like all Hyuuyga's, had pale eyes and brown hair; he wore the standard white battle kimono with a light blue obi. The Hyuuga was about 17 and definitely acted like one. Even though Kakashi was the leader, he acted like he was better and that he should be in charge.

Kakashi was different however; He was calm, quiet, and seemed to careless about the Hyuuga or his attitude. Kakashi had snow white hair that was short and spiky, that covered his forehead and touched his eyes. His calculating black eyes almost dubbed him as a genius. They were always alert, looking, searching for any signs of danger or deceit. He wore a face mask that covered his mouth and neck; a black skin tight shirt under Anbu-like style armor, and black pants with his kunai holster on his right thigh.

Suku's attire had changed as her last outfit had gotten torn beyond repair on her last mission. She wore a dark blue battle kimono, with a silver breast plate, and ninja bandages completely covering her arms and hands; black ninja sandals and tight black shorts. Suku's hair had grown longer over the months of none-stop missions; and it now touched her shoulder blades. Her kunai holster was on her left, and her senbon holster on her right. Over the years, Suku learned that being able to throw weapons with both hands could one day save your life; and that it did on one of her missions. So she trained with her left hand, so that she would hit her target ever time; just like she would with her right hand.

The trio had been traveling for only a few hours, before the small trees and green bushes began to fade behind them as they left Fire country. Kakashi lifted his hand and the team stopped abruptly.

Suku quickly jumped to the branch next to him as he spoke quietly, " Do you smell that?" He asked. Sniffing the air, she nodded, "Blood, and lots of it."

The two looked over at Masaki who had his Byakugan activated; his veins almost popping out of his eyes. "Five dead bodies, about 1 kilometer from here. There definitely was a battle there; the place is drenched with chakra."

"Is there anyone still there?" Kakashi asked, but his tone was neither urgent nor concerned.

"No, I don't see anyone else." Masaki confirmed, but he didn't deactivate his Byakugan.

The young Hatake nodded and commanded, "Hyuuga point, and Senshi right; I'll take left. Be on alert, the attackers might still be in the area." Nodding the three disappeared into the trees toward the clearing.

The small bushes where splattered with blood, and the ground was literally ripped apart; huge chunks of earth and rock where missing from the ground. The five bodies were scattered around the clearing; each one lying in a massive pool of their own blood.

"These bodies are fresh, there only a couple hours old." Suku said quietly, as she bent down and examined the body. 'All five are from no village as they don't have a forehead protector of their village with them.' She thought

"How can you tell?" Masaki asked, doubt dripping off of ever word, " They look like they have been dead for days."

"Hyuuga, open 'your all seeing eyes' and look around. The blood is still wet, the bodies are still intact, and the chakra used in the battle still lingers. If they were 'days' old then their bodies would be rotting away, and the chakra wouldn't be here. "Suku snapped in reply; his attitude was being to piss her off.

"Senshi, I am your superior you will talk to me with respect." Masaki barked back.

Suku's patience was thinning, and her voice was low and threatening, "Superior? You think you are greater than me because you are Hyuuga; because you have some stupid little bloodline that only your family has?" Her white, clenched fists began to glow yellow as she spoke, "If you think you are better than me, prove it and make me respect you." Masaki smirked confidently as he got into the Juuken (gentle fist) stance.

"Enough both of you," Kakashi commanded, Suku's yellow chakra faded from her hands, and Masaki straightened out of his stance. "Back into formation, we are leaving."

The rest of the day was quiet after the little incident with Suku and Masaki, each avoiding the other as much as possible. They stopped to make camp just as the sun dropped behind the mountains; bathing the sky in bright yellow, orange, and red. The normal sized trees in Fire country where replaced by tall, alpine, mountain trees of Earth country. It took a few minutes before they were able to find a clearing large enough; but they found one none the less. Suku went to get wood for the fire, and Kakashi & Masaki went to hunt for dinner.

The medic arrived back to the clearing first and began to set up the fire. Placing medium-sized rocks in a circle, and sticks in the middle, Suku made a few hands seals before exhaling a small flame into the circle. The flames licked the wood, and soon it caught on fire. Satisfied, she pulled a scroll out of her pack on rare herbs and poisons in Earth Country.

The two boys soon returned, carrying two fish and a bunny. Masaki prepared his bunny, while Kakashi handed the two fish to Suku. Smiling a bit, she took the fish and set them down on a rock. She rummaged through her bag till she found the spices she was looking for.

The Hyuuga looked over at the spiced and deliciously looking fish, to his bland, over-done meat. He scoffed and asked, "Senshi, why did you cook Kakashi's food? Are you his girlfriend or something?" The two had been talking quietly but it was suddenly stopped by Masaki. The clearing became silent, and the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the flames.

"What did you say, Hyuuga?" Suku asked coldly.

"You should listen the first time, as I don't like to repeat myself to common- low -lives like you, Senshi." Masaki jeered back, practically asking for a fight. Growling very un-lady like Suku disappeared and reappeared behind Masaki; and before anyone could react she tapped him in the center of the spine. He instantly fell to the ground face first. 'Pressure point' thought Kakashi

"What did you do!" He roared while trying to stand up. The young Senshi just stood there watching him squirm frantically, before a hand touched her shoulder.

"Suku, that's enough." Murmured Kakashi; But Suku grabbed his wrist so forcefully it broke cleaning in half; leaving it dangle.

"You don't ever get to touch me." She hissed, before stalking off into the woods, leaving the two in a lot of pain.

* * *

'Stupid, dipshit Masaki…he should go rot in a whole somewhere. I'm sure no one would miss that asshole.' Suku thought as she jumped higher and higher into the trees. 'And Kakashi, what the hell was he thinking! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean he can start trying to comfort me!'

She soon reached the top of the tree, and it was beautiful. There were no clouds in the sky, the stars seemed to shine brighter, and the crescent moon lit up the night sky with a pure, unstained light.

You could see for miles up in these trees, "Wow…" she marveled, "This is amazing."

Yes, Senshi Suku was a sucker for beautiful scenery. The serenity of the night seemed to instantly calm her down, as she sat down and began to meditate. How long she mediated for was unknown to her, but soon she felt all of her rage, and frustration disappear and she was finally able to think clearly again. She played to scene over and over in her head, and decided that Masaki deserved what he got; but Kakashi? 

No, he didn't deserve a wrist broken; he was just trying to help… She sighed deeply as she picked herself up off the tree, and began her descend down the trees to her camp.

Masaki was asleep were she left him, sprawled on the dirt next to the fire; and Kakashi was up in a tree, on watch; so he saw her return to camp. Quickly jumping up onto the branch next to him, Suku noticed his wrist was bandaged horribly, and was severely swollen. He didn't speak to her, only looked out into night. Channeling chakra into her hand, she gently took his wrist and placed it on her thigh as she began to heal it. Suku concentrated on pulling the broken bones together, and connecting them once again. Next she worked on the swelling, till his hand looked exactly the way it did before she broke it. The blue chakra faded, and her vision blurred a bit; but it soon faded and she could see clearly again. Kakashi looked at her in surprise.

"I'm sorry Kakashi about breaking your wrist. You didn't deserve it." She mumbled, while looking away from him.

Smiling, though you couldn't really tell from his mask, he answered, "It's okay, but I have one question. Why did you get all defensive when I touched your shoulder?"

Suku stiffened a bit and began to bite her lower lip, drawing blood as she debated whether to answer his question or not. "Um…well if I tell you, you have to swear you won't tell anyone." 'especially him' she added mentally.

Kakashi nodded, "Of course" Taking a deep breath Suku began, "Well, you kind of remind me of Itachi. And you may or may not know but…Well…we are kind of dating. And I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks because of all the missions we've been getting. And Itachi, was the first person who ever loved me, and he was the first person the touch me. So when you touched my shoulder it made me anger 

because really only Itachi is allowed to do that and you're not Itachi." She dropped her head as she spoke, "I know it sounds really pathetic."

"No Suku, it doesn't. You love him; don't ever be ashamed of that. And if you ever want to talk, know that I am here." Kakashi assured. Suku lifted her head to look at him, as tears fell from her eyes.

"Damnit, Kakashi. You made me cry." She laughed while wiping them away, "Thank you." She mumbled softly, hoping he wouldn't hear it.

"What was that?" He asked innocently.

Glaring playfully at Kakashi she said a little bit louder, "I said thank you, you asshole."

Smiling Kakashi replied, " Your welcome, now get some sleep. You have the next shift."

* * *

Suku's POV

The mission to the Tsuchikage went without further incident. We were soon on our way back with the Tsuchikage' reply. We did however run into some Kumo-nin in Fire country. There were four, two Jounin, and two Chunin. The Chunin where chubby ninja's, and looked exactly alike, and where most likely twins. The Jounin on the other hand, where both female, one was about 16 and the other was about 20. They each had two short blades on their backs, and had long black hair that reached their mid-backs.

"Look Kimiko, little Konoha ninja. Can we play with them?" One of the two Jounin said.

"Sure Yumi, just don't die alright."Kimiko, who seemed like the leader, said.

Cheering Yumi pulled out her twin blades and pointed to at Kakashi. "I want to play with that cutie over there." Nodding, Kimiko and the fat twins turned to Masaki and I.

"Mmm, Ryo doesn't she look tasty…" One of the brothers said while licking his lips. My eye brow twitched a bit, 'What was it with Kumo-nin thinking she was tasty or fun to play with?'

"Mmm, yes Jun let's play with her." Ryo said, while taking out two pills from his pack.

'Solider pill' Almost immediately chakra began to cover to twins. "Shit." I growled, yellow chakra began to glow in my right hand as I charged at Jun or Ryo; I couldn't tell the fat twins apart. As soon as my hand touched the blue chakra I began to forcefully take the chakra away from him. "Ryo!" Squealed Jun, "It hurts, Ryo!" I pushing my hand farther down; I touched his arm, affectively pulling all of his chakra out of his body. And Jun's body fell to the ground lying there lifelessly.

"JUN!" Yelled Ryo, he then pointed to me, "You killed him! You killed my brother!" He charged at me full of rage. He aimed a chakra enforced pouch that crackled with electricity. I flipped over his head tapping one of his shoulder blades in the air. Ryo's thick right arm went limp and he growled in anger. Charging another punch with his left, he began to punch at me wildly. Ducking and sidestepping most of the punches, but some of them grazed me. The spark of electricity would surge through my body for a few seconds, before receding.

'I need to make his other arm useless.' I concentrated on blue chakra into my hand and soon the familiar chakra engulfed my hand. Ryo charged again and I didn't move from my spot, 'wait for it, wait for it.' He pulled his arm back, 'there!' I jumped into the air and brought my chakra scalpel down onto his arm, slicing through it completely.

"AHHHH!" Ryo screamed, as he fell to his knees, "My arm!" I took the opportunity and with my chakra scalpel I touched his heart; the beating heart began to slow, and soon Ryo's eyes darkened; his body fell to the ground next to his brother's own body.

Kakashi's seemed to be fairing well against Yumi so, I turned to Masaki's battle in time to see Kimiko plunge her sword into his heart. She twisted the blade deeper into his body as he cried out in pain. "Masaki!" I yelled it was not out of horror but out of surprise. 'His own arrogance was his down fall.' I thought. Kimiko then pulled out her blade, ready to behead him when my senbon struck her in the neck; causing her to go into a temporary death.

"Kimiko!" Cried Yumi, as she disappeared from the battle with Kakashi, and reappeared in front of Kimiko. Lifting her body over her shoulder the two then disappeared in a swirl of electricity. After watching them go, I ran over to Masaki. He was bleeding profusely from his chest, and I had to stop the bleeding.

"Kakashi," I yelled, "Help me set him up!" He quickly ran over and helped me set him up against a tree. I dug through my pack till I came upon blood clotting pills. I shoved the pill down his throat and it took immediate affect. I quickly began to repair the wound in his chest. The blade cut deep into his chest, and it barely missed his heart. The nerves where damaged due to Kimiko twisting her blade. Soon the nerves, tissue, and bone where repaired, and Masaki was unconscious but alive. Sweat dripped down from my body, and my clothes clung to my body.

"How far is it from Konoha?" I asked tiredly.

"About three hours, if we go full speed." He replied, while picking up half of Masaki. I nodded and picked up the other half. (They are 11, and 13. They each can't carry a full grown man by themselves.)

Soon the gate to Konoha appeared and I sighed in relief. We stopped from our break-neck speed to a slow jog. We reached the gates, and I thought I could make it to my house, but I was wrong. My vision blurred, and my legs trembled before they gave way. I tumbled to the ground brining Masaki and Kakashi with me. That was the last thing I remember before I lost consciousness.

* * *

The strong smell of bleach, reached my noise and I knew immediately where I was. 'Man, I'm in the stupid hospital.' I thought. I opened my eyes and slowly sat up. 'Damn, my head hurts.' I looked around the room, and saw vase of flowers and a couple of cards on my night stand. I picked up a random card and read it, 'Make sure to get well kid. –Genma' I smiled placing it on the bed and picked up another, 'Hey little sister. Heal up and come see me some time!-Anko' Placing it on the bed I picked up the last card, 'Suku let your youthfulness heal you!!-Gai (is 15) lastly I looked over at the vase full of flowers: Pink Magnolia's and White Momo's filled the vase. 'My favorite…' I reached over and opened the tag but it was blank. I sighed 'I wonder who they are from'. A nurse came in later and told me I was free to go.

I quickly dressed into my ninja attire and left the Hospital with my cards and vase of flowers. I made my way home and took a shower. Then I left to the Hokage tower for my next mission.

The tower was pretty empty, though there were always Anbu walking around. I turned the corner and walked down the hall to the Hokage's office. The secretary looked up at me and asked, " Do you have an appointment?"

"Um, no." I replied, man this lady was annoying.

"Then you are going to have to wait." She answered rudely, But the Yondaime called out from behind the door, "Come in Suku." I opened the door, and shut it behind me.

"I hope you are feeling better." Minato said enthusiastically while smiling.

"Hai, Hokage-sama I am." I replied respectfully.

"Well that's good. I want to applaud you on saving Hyuuga Masaki's life. The Hyuuga clan sends their thanks. I also have some great news; Tsunade has taken interest in you. She would like to meet you sometime this week. And you will have no missions for three days; I want you to fully recover and spend some time with your friends." Smiling the Hokage dismissed me as I walked out in shock and disbelief.


	6. Wow

Sorry about the wait on the new chapter. School started so I have been kind of busy.

"The aim of military training is not just to prepare men for battle, but to make them long for it." Louis Simpson

'Tsunade…the Slug Princess, wants to meet me… ' Suku thought in disbelief as she walked into her favorite tea shop. She spotted a small table near the back and slowly walked toward it. Deep in thought, she didn't realize someone was talking to her until they started waving their hands to get her attention.

"Sorry." Suku mumbled at the waitress. The waitress just huffed angrily before taking Suku's order.

"Tikuan Yin."Suku said without looking up. The waitress nodded and disappeared behind a curtain to the kitchen. She quickly reappeared with a small black teapot and a black tea cup. (AN: the ones without a handle.) The hot liquid warmed Suku's body as she drank, and the familiar soothing sensation washed over her.

'Mmm this is good…' she thought, while closing her eyes. Soon the teapot was emptied of the hot liquid; Suku paid and left the shop, intent on finding Tsunade.

The young Senshi didn't have to look very hard, in fact she found Tsunade quite easily. She worked in the hospital constantly, and that is where Suku found her. The hospital was busy, as always, with nurses and doctors tending to their patients. After asking around, Suku found Tsunade in her office.

"Ah Suku, I wondered when you would show up. Have a seat." Tsunade said, while motioning with her hand toward seats in front of her desk. Suku nodded and quickly sat in one of the two chairs.

"Tsunade-sama, why did you ask to meet me?" Suku asked slowly, hoping it didn't sound rude. Tsunade put down the file she had been reading and looked Suku straight in the eyes.

"Minato said that you have potential in becoming a great medic, and I wanted to test your skills; and if you do pass my little test, then I might consider training you." Suku's eyes widened as she spoke, " Meet me in front of the Hokage tower at six a.m. sharp tomorrow, if you want to try and pass my little test. I will not wait a minute past six, so be there on time. You may leave now." Tsunade said, while picking up another file.

Suku bowed before leaving the office; Once out of the hospital, Suku left for the Uchiha district looking for a certain someone.

As she ran through the Hyuuga District many people smiled, and nodded at Suku acknowledging her. 'Well that's something you don't see everyday…' Suku thought.

But she shrugged it off, and soon the Uchiha District came into view. Suku wasn't surprised when the Uchiha's frowned at her or even glared. She mentally sighed, but continued toward Itachi's house. Mikoto answered the door.

"Hello, Suku what a lovely surprise, would you like to come in?" Mikoto greeted, she was so cheerful that you could tell it was fake.

"Um, is Itachi here?" She asked, while trying to look over Mikoto. Smiling Mikoto stepped aside while speaking, " Go up stairs, make a right, and he is in the room at the end of the hall." Suku quickly said thank you before dashing up the stairs and disappearing down the hallway.

'The room at the end of the hall way…' Suku thought as her feet stopped when she reached her destination. She stared at the door, hesitating. 'What am I waiting for?' She asked herself, 'Just bring your hand up and knock..' Slowly, her arm raised and her fingers curled up into a fist. Three solid knocks sliced through the silence, echoing throughout the large house. Suku shivered a bit while looking around, 'There is something dark and evil about this house…' thought Suku. The cold emptiness of the house coiled around her, like a snake squeezing the life out of its prey. The air was thick, and one could taste the taint in it.

Soon a few curses, and the sound of shuffling feet could be heard as they came closer toward the door. The door opened swiftly, making Suku jump a bit.

"Suku, what are you doing here?" The familiar voice asked, and all the cold emptiness of the house fled into the darkest corner of the house; chased away by comfort, and love.

"Hey Itachi," She replied while smiling. Itachi moved aside letting Suku into the room. She moved to the futon next to the window and sat down comfortably while Itachi shut the door.

"How are you feeling?" Itachi asked while walking over to the futon.

"Fine," she replied, while looking around the room. It was a large room, with a dark wood bookshelf full of scrolls, a black futon (which she is sitting on), a medium desk and chairs in the corner of the room, and a door leading to what she assumed was his closet. 'Nice room' thought Suku

"Sorry, I didn't visit you in the hospital. I just got back from my mission." Itachi mumbled as he sat down on the futon. 'If he didn't send the flowers then who did?' she thought. Suku looked Itachi up and down. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted blood on his shirt. Itachi followed her gaze and sighed.

"Maybe I'm the one who should be asking if you are okay." Suku retorted. Silently, Itachi tugged off his shirt to reveal a deep cut on his right collar bone. It was bandaged horribly and blood seeped through the bandage and began trickling down his chest. The wound was not life threatening, but if not treated correctly the nerves in his left arm wouldn't function correctly. Angrily and not to gently, Suku began to take off the makeshift bandage. Once done, she began to inspect his wound; Suku poked here and there asking if it hurt or not.

She got a simply yes or no from Itachi; who was trying hard to not gasp in pain. But the examination was soon over and Suku quickly healed the gash.

"Itachi, you should have gone to the hospital." Suku scolded, "Don't come crying to me when you have some dysfunctional limb. It will be your own fault for not getting it healed sooner." Itachi smiled and pulled her so that she was sitting in his lap.

Sighing Suku looked up at Itachi and their lips met. The kiss lasted a few seconds, neither one wanting to stop. But they parted, taking in huge amounts of air.

"I've missed you." Itachi breathed, he didn't give her time to reply as his lips where on hers once again. Straddling him, Suku ran her fingers through his hair, as Itachi wrapped his arms around her waist. The kiss became more passionate each one wanting more. But their lips parted once again, the need for air was too great to ignore any longer.

"I've missed you too." Suku whispered when she finally controlled her breathing, though her heart continued to race; the loud thumping noise dull in her ears. Suku shifted her position so that her back was on Itachi's chest, before asking , " Did you send me flowers?"

Itachi gave her a confused look before shaking his head, "No, I didn't." He replied, Itachi turned his head and gazed out of his window. The burning ball of light scurried off into the distance, letting the light dull, and leaving the land dark and full of shadows.

"It's getting late, you should go home." Itachi said without taking his eyes off the window. Suku nodded, and began to untangle herself from him. After a few minutes she was finally free. 'Wasn't there something I wanted to tell him…?' She looked off into the distance thinking before she shrugging, 'Oh well'

"I'll see you later then." She smiled before kissing Itachi one last time before walking to the door.

"Wait, Suku. Go through the window." Itachi said his voice now colder, and sharper than before.

Suku looked at Itachi questionably for a moment before opening the window and jumping out onto the roofs.

The young Senshi swiftly made her way through the Uchiha District, and soon the Hyuuga District. She was just a blur in night; no one was sure of her appearance and could not give an accurate description of her, if in fact they actually saw her.

The Uchiha House was quiet and still, as a shadowed figure approached a familiar room that had once been occupied by two people; now only one. Without knocking, the figure opened the door.

"Shisui, it is rude to enter a room without knocking." Itachi said, as he watched through his window, a blur disappear in the distance.

"Who was that?" The figure, Shisui, demanded. He was about a head taller than Itachi, and he had all the traditional qualities an Uchiha had; dark hair, dark eyes, sharp cheek bones, and a slim yet muscular body.

Itachi grimaced, and turned toward Shisui, "If you have come to ask me pointless question, then get out. I don't need you wasting my time." Itachi replied callously, while looking at him carefully. Shisui frowned for a moment before dropping the subject.

"The clan meeting is in fifteen minutes. Your father wishes you present and on time." Shisui said in a monotone voice, almost as if reading off a paper.

"I will be there. Now get out Shisui." Itachi ordered before turning back to the window.

Suku was up before her damaged alarm clock could beep. She knew going back to sleep would prove futile, so grabbing a book of her bookshelf she walked into the kitchen, and began to make herself a nice cup of Oolong tea. Snuggling back into her warm bed, Suku took out her book and began reading. She finally stopped reading when her alarm clock beeped, and began to get ready. Taking a shower before training would be pointless, so she just brushed her hair and teeth; she slipped on a tight white tank-top, black shorts, black ninja shoes and her ninja gear before leaving her house.

The air was crisp but refreshing, as Suku made her way to the Hokage Tower. '5:30,' thought Suku when she finally reached her destination. Tsunade hadn't arrived yet, so Suku decided to lean against the wall, and very Itachi like she crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. When Tsunade arrived, she wasn't too surprised to see Suku already there waiting for her.

"We will go to Training ground 14. There you will be tested on, strength, speed, ability to dodge, taijutsu, your medical knowledge, and finally you will spar with any two ninja I pick. I don't expect you to do perfectly at everything, but I do expect 110 from you. This will be hard, and you WILL get hurt. Are you prepared for this test Senshi Suku?" Tsunade asked seriously.

"I am." Suku said.

Suku's POV

The training ground was deserted, and a good portion of the trees surrounding the training ground had been shattered. I automatically knew who had done it. Tsunade, this training ground was Tsunade's personal training ground.

"We will begin with your strength test." Tsunade announced," You will do a series of punches, and kicks on a tree as hard as you can. That way I can get a good idea how hard you can hit." I nodded while pulling out some black gloves. Tsunade pointed to a tree and I walked over to it, not slow yet not fast either. I took a deep breath, relaxing all my muscles, and then raised my fist back and it smashed into the tree. Then I immediately brought my other fist into the tree, followed by two kicks. Tsunade raised her hand for me to stop, and walked over to survey the damage. The first punch had done major damage to the tree, as did the second but the two kicks had been weak and did minor damage. Tsunade ran her hand over the tree, to probably feel the damage…

"Again, this time start with two kicks then two punches." She commanded. I nodded and moved over to the tree next to me. Taking a deep breath again, I brought my leg up and again smashed it into the tree. A loud CRACK rang through the forest, but I felt no pain. So I brought my other leg up and it to collided with the tree. Another loud CRACK sound, and the tree splintered. Pieces of bark and chunks of wood fell but the tree held firm.

"Hmm, interesting…" Mumbled Tsunade before she turned toward me, "You put most of your energy and effort into your first kick or punch; then you put less and less into the next strike. That's why your first punch and kick did most of the damage, while your next strikes didn't. Try putting the same amount of power into the next strikes as you do in the first ones."

"Okay." I said, while moving to the next tree. I didn't take a deep breath just smashed my fist to the tree as hard as I could, then my other fist, right leg, and finally my left leg. There where indents in the tree of where I had hit.

Tsunade nodded and turned toward me, "Next I will test your speed. You will run three laps around Konoha, and then swim two miles. Begin!"

My wet clothes clung to my body as I got out of the river. It was a good thing I didn't wear a t-shirt…memories of training with Itachi and Genma flashed into my mind but I quickly swatted them away. I had more important things to think about. Tsunade had just 'hmmed,' when I finished and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. My arms where pulsing, and my legs started to shake a bit, but this was normal for me I just needed to stretch them out.

"The easy stuff is over, this is where people start to get seriously injured and sometimes die. Your objective is to evade as many attacks as you can."Tsunade said while cracking her knuckles, a grim smile on her face. I prepared myself for her attack, and she did not disappoint. Tsunade was on me in seconds and I was dodging punch after punch, kick after kick. I jumped back, putting some distance in between us.  
"Prepare yourself Senshi Suku!" Tsunade yelled, as she hit the ground. I wasn't sure why she did that, but I got my answer as the ground trembled. Pumping chakra to my feet, I jumped high in the air just as the ground exploded; chunks of rock and gravel flew up into the air. I evaded most but a couple rocks hit my right side. As soon as my feet touched the ground Tsunade was on me and I didn't react in time to dodge her first punch to my face, and second kick to my stomach; effectively making me fly back into a tree. Hard. Pain rippled through my body, like a rock being dropped into water. Blood seeped out of the corner of my mouth, but I didn't bother wiping it away. I slowly stood up using the tree for support, my legs shook and my hands trembled. Tsunade stood in the clearing looking at me, with hands on her hips.

"Do you wish to continue the test?" She asked loud enough so I would hear. I nodded my head and Tsunade disappeared and reappeared in front of me, punching and kicking.

The test on my ability to heal was ironically on me not on another person. I was to heal all the injuries I got from Tsunade, so I would be able to fight the two ninja of Tsunade's choice. We stood in the clearing waiting for them to arrive. I had fully healed myself, the pain from before was now just a dull ache, reminding me each of the punches and kicks I had failed to dodge. A boy, a girl and a dog emerged from the tree line, they looked about a year older than me, and by the looks of their vests they were Chunin. I recognized the boy as an Uchiha, and the girl as an Inuzuka. She had shoulder length red hair, the trade mark upside down triangles on both cheeks, and the dead giveaway: her dog. The dog was medium sized, and had grey-black fur. Tsunade nodded to the two and the dog before addressing me, "Suku, this is who you will be fighting: Uchiha Obito, Inuzuka Rin and her companion Daichi, as you can see they are both Chunin, but you will not fight them individually; you will be fighting all three at the same time. I will judge the fight, and jump in if I see a clear winner. Killing is not permitted or intentional permanent damage to the body. Begin!"

I immediately jumped back a few feet, and began to devise a plan. Obito is an Uchiha so he must rely heavily on his Sharingan to predict my movements, so if I take away his sight…he will be seriously crippled giving me an advantage. Charging blue chakra in my hand, my chakra scalpel formed and I charged at Obito. As I predicted, he had his Sharingan activated, and prepared for the attack. I almost scoffed; I had fought against the Sharingan many times when sparring with Itachi. I knew the weakness of the Sharingan; it's seriously not that hard to figure out. The key to defeating the Sharingan is speed, and I had speed. The eye might be able to catch my movements but sometimes the body isn't able to react in time to stop the attack. Or, the body might be able to react in time but, if the eye doesn't catch the movement how are you suppose to know where the attack is coming from?

I quickly closed the distance; he didn't react in time to block my hand from touching his right eye. Immediately, Obito jumped back clutching his eye.

"What did you do!" He yelled his voice full of pain, surprise of seeing nothing but darkness.

"I temporarily disabled your sight." I answered while keeping an eye on the Inuzuka. She was conversing with Daichi, and it seemed like the where making a plan. One down two to go. I disappeared and reappeared behind Rin and Daichi. I pressed my index finger to Daichi's neck and his eyes rolled back as he fell to the ground. Rin gasped but jumped away from me, into a nearby tree. The Inuzuka would be fun to fight; all their techniques are Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. They are known for being brash, and not thinking things through. But Rin seemed different; she didn't engage me in a fight right away like most Inuzuka's would. She studied my movements and was devising a plan, and just now when Daichi fell she didn't lose her temper. She fled, to think up another way of defeating me now that I took out her only ally.

After a few minutes Rin, appeared in the clearing. She got into a traditional Inuzuka stance and waited for me. Smirking, I disappeared and reappeared in front of Rin punching her in the jaw. Her head few back but she held her ground; and in a split second she had recoiled with her own punch. It connected, and her fist smashed into my cheek. Brining my leg up, I kicked her but Rin blocked it with her own leg. I followed up with another kick with my other leg which took her by surprise. My foot jammed into her stomach, and this time she flew back into a tree.

Slowly, Rin got up; using the tree as support just as I had done a few hours ago. She then ran at me with a kunai in hand and a look of determination in her eyes. Grinning with excitement, I pulled out a Senbon and ran toward her. Metal clashed, and grunts where whimpered, as we locked weapons; both of us fighting to overpower the enemy -no we weren't enemies. We were fighting as two kunoichi wanting to prove we could be just as good as any guy; that we weren't worthless and weak. We wanted to be noticed because of our skills, not because of the way we looked or dressed. Rin and I, just two medic's fighting, had developed mutual respect for each other that would last a lifetime.

My strength began to fade a bit and Rin took advantage of it right away. She immediately pushed harder and her kunai over powered my senbon, stabbing me in the upper left arm. I hissed in pain, and jabbed my senbon into her arm; puncturing the anicubital. (Extend your arm straight out, the inside part opposite of the elbow, the soft part.) We both jumped away from each other to access the damage. Quickly ruffling through my bag I found a blood clotting pill, and swallowed it. Next, I swallowed a solider pill and I instantly felt the rush of energy. Rin was healing her wound to the elbow but it was slow progress. I was not about to give up this opportunity. I Shunshin'ed behind her and pressed my two fingers against the back of her neck. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her body crumbled to the ground, unconscious: just like her other companions.

I passed Tsunade's test; but I didn't feel as happy as I should have. Yes, I was glad that Tsunade would be training me, and I was excited to train with her; but I had this need in the pit of my stomach. It was vicious, violent, and demanding.

I walked into one of the few ninja only bars, sat down and ordered a glass of sake. It was about ten-thirty at night, but there where only a few people at the bar. The bartender knew I was under-age but luckily I wore my Jounin vest, so he didn't ask any questions. He just gave me my alcohol and left me alone. I was on my third shot of sake when someone sat down next to me.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" I knew that voice…but where had I heard it. I looked over and saw a familiar masked ninja.

"So are you," I said, while eyeing his sake. I turned back to my sake and gulped down another shot.

Kakashi did they same before speaking again, "I heard you passed Tsunade's test" he said while looking off into the distance, "Rin, and Obito where on my Genin team when I was younger."

I nodded, "Rin was a good opponent; the Yondaime trained her well."

We both swallowed another shot, before a messenger bird flew into the restaurant; flying right to me. I unraveled the note from the birds' leg and read it.

_Senshi Suku, _

_The Hokage wishes to see you first thing tomorrow morning. Do not be late._

* * *

Well what do you think? Please review!


	7. Tsunade's training and B ranked mission

**If you want me to continue to write this story please _review _and let me know. .**

Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.  
**- Sun Tzu**

* * *

"Damn, I thought I had a couple of days off…" Suku mumbled to herself as she crumbled the note in her hand. She turned to Kakashi with a mischievous grin on her face, "Hey Kakashi, I bet I can drink more than you."Suku slurred, Kakashi was about to agree to her challenge but hesitated; Suku was in no condition to continue drinking, and she obviously was going to do something stupid. He pushed the thought aside; after all he wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

Thirty minutes later

Loud laughter filled the bar as two ninjas fell to the floor; completely and utterly drunk. Kakashi and Suku stumbled out of the bar, trying to help each other walk. It was hopeless as they couldn't even walk themselves. So the two stumbled on through the streets, each one having an arm around the others shoulder; the only people out this late where Shinobi and they just smiled at the young drunks as they went by. After a few minutes, they arrived at Kakashi's apartment.

"Goodnight Su-chan," Kakashi slurred while fumbling with his keys.

"But Kaka-chan! I can't walk," Suku complained innocently, "Just let me crash at your place!"

Kakashi looked at her like she was crazy, "Su-chan! You can't stay here! What would Ita-chan think?" Suku giggled, as Kakashi opened the door to his apartment.

"Hmm, I think Ita-chan would be more pissed at being called Ita-chan than me being drunk." Suku laughed as she fell onto the couch; Kakashi's apartment was just like any other apartment. It had one bedroom, one bathroom, a small kitchen that opened up to a larger room; where there was a large couch, a coffee table and a book shelf. The masked Jounin, Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang, giggled. Yes, the great Kakashi giggled at Suku and fell to the floor clutching his stomach laughing. Suku rolled off the couch, literally, and crawled on the cold wooden floor to Kakashi.

"Wow Kaka-chan! You can laugh!" And the two started laughing again.

* * *

The two ended up falling asleep on the couch; Kakashi's arm and leg hanging over the side and a bit of drool coming from the side of his mouth. Suku was curled up in a ball next to him, clutching the back of his shirt. Her dark turquoise hair fell down across her face; making her look innocent and more childlike. Soon the sun rose above the mountain's and light began to seep into the small apartment. The rays hit Kakashi and he twitched a bit before opening his eyes.

"What happened last night," He mumbled while scratching his head. Suku mumbled next to him, while reaching for the shirt that had slipped away from her grasp. Blurry and very vague memories of the night before flooded his mind, and he sat down on the coach clutching his head in pain. The loud thumping noise faded away but the pain still lingered. So Kakashi finally turned to face Suku. He smiled, and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear just as a ray of light came through the window waking her up. Suku sat up, and rubbed her eyes.

"What happened last night?" She asked.

"I'm not really sure." He answered.

Suku huffed before touching her glowing hand against Kakashi's head. His headache dulled, and soon it was gone completely.

"Thanks."

"Mmhmm."

The two sat in an awkward silence before Suku jumped up and yelled, "Shit! I have to meet with the Hokage!" Not even saying good-bye Suku ran out of the apartment to the Hokage tower.

Hokage Tower

"Your late Suku, that's very unlike you," Announced the Hokage, without looking up from his paper work.

"Sorry Hokage-sama, it won't happen again." Suku said while bowing deeply.

The Hokage finally looked up from his paper work and smiled. Suku's clothes were wrinkled, her hair was a mess, and she didn't even have her ninja gear.

"Late night?" The Yondaime teased. Glaring, Suku replied, "Yes, I have a headache, I'm tired, and I just want to go home. So please Hokage-sama spit out whatever you needed to talk to me about."  
The Hokage raised his eyebrows in surprise, never had Suku talked disrespectfully to him; it was kind of nice, as the Yondaime hated formalities.

"Fine fine, I am glad to hear you passed Tsunade's test. Now I will give you one week to train with her. You are one of my best Jounin and I can only give you a week. Your training starts at 9 am today at Tsunade's personal training grounds. Train hard Suku, because when that week is over, a B-ranked mission waits for you. Tsunade knows the details of the mission but you will find out at the end of the week. Though I will tell you this, we cannot afford to have this mission be unsuccessful. Failure is not an option.

* * *

"To slow!" Tsunade yelled as she punched Suku in the stomach. Blood seeped out of her mouth as she picked herself up off the ground. Her body was covered with a nice variety of busies and cuts all the size of a fist. The two had been training for hours, and Suku was beginning to get mad. She was suppose to doge all the attacks and not fight back. But she was fed up of getting hit; she wanted Tsunade to feel the pain. It was time to stop dodging and fight back.

Spitting some blood out, Suku's hand began to glow yellow. Tsunade charged at Suku, and brought her fist back ready to punch her. Just as Tsunade brought her arm forward to punch, Suku caught her fist and began to drain all the chakra that had been concentrated there. Yelling in surprise and pain Tsunade jumped back, "What the hell was that?" She said.

"That was my Kekki Genki, The Katsushitai or Split body. My chakra reserves are split half; one side is normal chakra and the other is the yellow chakra you saw. I can make it do anything I want, and I wanted it to absorb the chakra concentrated in your fist."

"Amazing," Tsunade breathed, "Do you know its limits?"

"No," Suku said while shaking her head, "I haven't gotten the chance to test it."

Nodding, Tsunade answered, " Well why don't we do that now. Let's see if it will allow you to enter the human body."

Suku's hand glowed yellow and she pushed it into her arm. Her hand disappeared into her arm. Yelling in agony Suku pulled her hand out of her arm. As she pulled her arm out a chunk of flesh from her arm came with it, it was like the flesh was stuck to the yellow chakra. Blood flowed freely out of her arm, trickling down to her wrist and then onto the ground. Suku's yellow chakra disappeared, and the lump of flesh fell to the ground.

"AHH! Fuck this hurts!" Suku yelled. Tsunade was immediately by her side and picked up the piece of her arm.

"Suku, this will hurt." Tsunade warned.

"I don't care! Do it!" She yelled. Biting her lip and clenching her fist, did nothing to keep her screams from escaping her lips as Tsunade jammed the missing piece of flesh back into her arm. Suku's screams echoed throughout the forest, each one filled with suffering and agony.

"Suku stay with me," Tsunade yelled while slapping the side of her cheek. Suku's eyes flew open and she grabbed Tsunade's wrist (With the uninjured arm).

"Suku, let go," Warned Tsunade, "Or I won't be able to heal you." Releasing her arm Suku turned her head and looked off into the distance as Tsunade continued to heal her arm.

The 'surgery' took over an hour and a half to do. Healing nerves, veins, bones, and muscles that were ripped out doesn't just take ten minutes; it takes time, and precision. So once the operation was over the training continued, and Suku pushed herself past her previous limits and her strength and speed began to steadily increase. Punches and kicks that she had been unable to block became more and more easier to dodge; and Suku's attacks connected faster and more accurate than they previously had. Tsunade sometimes even had to heal herself from the wounds Suku was inflicting on her.

* * *

It was made official that Iwa had joined sides with Kumo, and that Suna had allied themselves with Konoha. There was much talk of bloody battles that many Shinobi fought, some boasted and stretched the tale; others told the battles how it happened not leaving any details out. But it was no secret that every ninja was on edge; waiting for the final attack on the village to begin.

"Suku, we have three more days to train." Tsunade announced, "With the permission of the Yondaime I am able to tell you what your mission is. That way I can prepare you the best I can for it. You will travel in a group of five: Itachi, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and yourself. You all will travel to a bridge in between Iwa and Kumo, this bridge allows the enemies to receive all their supplies. Your mission is to destroy that bridge, it will cripple both villages giving us a huge advantage; and give us an opportunity to make a truce with them. This mission is B-ranked but it could easily escalate to an A-rank, because we are not sure how the bridge is guarded or how heavily it is guarded. There could easily be all Jounins guarding the bridge but we just don't know for sure. So I am going to teach you how to sense someone's chakra, this will help you determine their location and strength level."

"Is that possible?"Suku asked while thinking intensely.

"Yes, the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's are able to see chakra and determine how much a person has. The Inuzuka's can smell chakra and determine where and how strong their opponents are. So, right now you are going to sit and meditate."

Suku sat down under a tree, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes.

"Take deep breaths, and relax. Concentrate on your surroundings, and all the living things in the forest…. Now is there a metal picture of your surroundings in your mind?"Tsunade waited a few minutes before she got a reply.

"Yes." Suku said slowly.

"Good, now concentrate on the animals life energy, their chakra."

Thirty minutes went by before Suku spoke, " I can't find it."

"Concentrate Suku, remember the feeling of chakra and search for that feeling."

Another thirty minutes went by, so Tsunade decided to sit down, 'This might take a while…'

"I…I feel two bunnies…like I see them in my mind…they are glowing blue."

"Good, Suku. Now try the plants chakra, concentrate on the small things living in the forest."

Soon the sun lowered and the moon steadily rose. Tsunade had long left the training field, saying they would continue training tomorrow. But Suku sat under the tree, concentrating on all the living things in the forest. It was about mid-night before she was able to correctly identify everything in the forest without having to look at it. From wolfs, all the way down to the smallest insect. Though she could only sense them if they were close enough; if they were past two kilometers they were out of her reach; so Suku shuffled home tiredly, like she does every night, satisfied with the progress she had made.

* * *

Suku's training with Tsunade went in a pattern. First thing she did when she got to the training ground was her warm-up which consisted of: a five mile run/sprint, two mile swim, a series of push-ups, crunches, kicks, punches and pressure point hits. Then medical training where she was put into different scenarios' and Suku would have to make the right decisions to save her comrades life or keep her teammates alive...etcetera. Next, they would eat lunch, and then spent the rest of the day on Chakra Location.

"It is time to locate human chakra. It is the same principle as animals; the chakra is just stronger in humans. I am going to hide somewhere in the clearing. Find me and throw a weapon at my location." As soon as Tsunade finished, she disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, Suku began to create a mental image of her surroundings based off the energy (chakra) they released. After she had a good image of the forest in her mind she began to look for the stronger chakra Tsunade had mentioned. It took about 15 minutes to find and the chakra was a lot stronger and a lot brighter than its surroundings. Just as she was about to throw her weapon she felt another presence enter her mental picture. The chakra level was a lot lower than Tsunade's but the chakra felt the same as Tsunade's.

'Shadow clone.' Suku thought as she threw her senbon in the direction the stronger presence was. And sure enough out came Tsunade.

"Well done Suku. Remember what my chakra looked and felt like so it will be easier and quicker to find; because on a mission you sometimes don't have ten or fifteen minutes to find your enemy."

Tsunade left the training ground with the excuse of having to attend a war meeting with the Hokage. So Suku just stayed in the clearing working on her Chakra location.

"Hmm, sense human chakra is stronger than animals I wonder if I could find other ninja's training near me…" Closing her eyes Suku thought of the way Tsunade's chakra felt and began to search through the forest faster than before because now she knew what she was looking for.

She found two people within her two kilometer radius and she decided to look farther out. Suku pushed past her limit, almost forcing herself to look beyond the two kilometer radius. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead, and her clothes clung to her body. But as soon as she left the two kilometer radius it felt like a great amount of weight had been lifted off her. Her breathing no longer was shallow and short; it was steady and strong as she continued to search for more ninja training around her.

Suku found a total of eight ninjas training within a six kilometers radius. She also found out that she had no boundaries anymore, she could have continued but then she would have been out of the training grounds. The sun was setting but Suku did not feel as tired as she had been the last few nights but she went home anyways.

* * *

My training with Tsunade soon ended and my B-ranked mission soon arrived. For the first time in years, I nervously waited at the main gate for my teammates to arrive. Itachi was first, then Kakashi, Rin, and finally Obito.

"We move in the line formation, and when we begin the attack we will split into two teams. Suku, Obito, and Kakashi you will be our main assault team while Rin and I take out the primary leaders. Our main concern is to destroy the bridge completely, while decreasing their numbers. Kakashi you will be our scout before we commence the attack.

"Itachi, Kakashi doesn't have to be our scout." Itachi looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Taking a deep breath I began explaining chakra location.

"Tsunade taught me how to locate ninja's based off their chakra. Chakra location. I will be able to tell you how many and how strong the ninja's are guarding the bridge without having to get anywhere near them."

Itachi thought for a moment then nodded, "Fine, you will locate the ninja's on the bridge instead of Kakashi. I will be point, Suku and Rin in the middle, Kakashi, then Obito bringing up the rear."

"Hey! Why do I have to be in the back?" Obito asked as he threw his hands up in the air.

Grimacing, Itachi replied coldly, " Do not argue Obito, do as your told without question." Obito glared at Itachi but stayed silent. The younger Uchiha (Itachi) raised his hand and everyone got into formation, and once he brought his hand down we all disappeared into the forest.

We had just left fire Country when I noticed Rin's Nin-dog wasn't with her.

"Rin, where is Daichi?" I asked

She bowed her head and became depressed as she spoke, " He died on my last mission…I was unable to save him."

I felt somewhat sorry for her but I knew she didn't want my sympathy that is if I had any. I mean ninja's die every day and that included nin-dogs as well, that's why we train so that we aren't the ones dying. It's either kill or be killed; no one ever said a life of a Shinobi is easy.

It took us two days to get to the bridge, it was an uneventful trip there. Obito's complaining about everything was getting on every ones nerves, but I was the only one who did something about it.

"Are we there yet?" Obito asked for the millionth time. That was the final straw, I had enough of his constant questions and bitching.

"We will be there in a two hours. So shut up or you will be in a world of pain before you could say 'oops.'" I said rather coldly, probably to cold. But hey, at least it shut him up…or so I thought.

"Just because you are a Jounin doesn't mean you are better than me. You are just some low life Shinobi trying to feel superior to me." He replied while smirking. I heard Rin gasp, and saw Kakashi shake his head while stepping back away from Obito.

My eye twitched a bit and I tried to hold my anger in. Did this sound familiar to anyone? Oh yeah I remember Masaki had said something similar. Why do these ignorant people think they are better than everyone else?! This was beginning to get really annoying! I was about to punch him but someone beat me to it. Itachi held Obito up against a tree by his collar. He had his Sharingan activated and looked ready to kill.

"You will shut up or I will painfully cut your vocal cords out so you won't ever talk again. Also, utter one more word about Suku and I will make sure that my father strips you of the Uchiha name and throws you out of our family." Itachi roughly dropped Obito onto the ground and Obito just stayed on the ground.

Just as Itachi began walking away Obito opened his big mouth again, "What would your father say if he found out you were fucking a Senshi?"

"Obito…you just dug your own grave…" Kakashi said while shaking his head again.

3rd POV

Suku disappeared and reappeared beside Obito and coldy whispered into his ear, " Don't forget how easily I temporarily took away your sight. I can easily do it again but this time it will be…permanent. Just think how fun it would be, those eyes you're so proud of…gone." Suku softly laughed at Obito's horror stuck face. He trembled as Suku slowly brought her yellow glowing hand to his eyes, but just as she was about to take away his sight Rin spoke up for the first time,

"Please Suku, don't take his sight away. I will make sure he doesn't say another word. Please just stop…" Suku looked over at Itachi and he nodded for her to stop. Huffing and pouting slightly she stood up and didn't utter a word.

Suku's POV

I refused to be on a team with Obito, so he was switched to Itachi's team so it was only Kakashi and I. We also switched objectives, now it was Kakashi and I taking out the leaders and Itachi's team was the main assault.

We stood about ten kilometers away from the bridge and I sat down on a tree branch concentrating. After ten minutes I opened my eyes and spoke of my findings,

"I counted ten Genin, thirty Chunin, twenty Jounin, and two higher leveled ninja. They are put into groups of four: one genin, two Chunin, and one Jounin; which meant there are twenty groups of four guarding the bridge. Their guard shift patterns where easy to decode, all teams would patrol clock-wise for three hours then they would suddenly turn around and patrol counter clock-wise for another three hours. This tactic was hoped to spot enemies easier but it was too easy to figure out."

"How do you know they walk a certain way for three hours?" Kakashi asked.

"Because they leave a chakra trail, so their teammates know where they have been. With this information I was able to determine that they travel the same path at a constant speed for three hours."

"Suku, how do you propose we start the attack?" Itachi asked while looking in the direction the bridge was.

"I think the stealth approach would be best, because they are in teams and we can easily pick them off one team at a time. That way we don't have to fight a large amount of high leveled Shinobi at the same time." I answered.

Itachi thought for a moment, then asked, " What do you think Hatake?"

Kakashi was silent for a minute then responded, "I think Suku's plan is the best we have right now and it makes the most sense."

Itachi then handed everyone radio ear pieces, "This is how we will communicate throughout the whole mission. Only speak when you are out of hearing distance of other ninja. Also Suku would you be able to relay the enemies position's to us?"

"Yes, but I need to know what everyone's chakra feels like so I will be able to find your position and relay the closets enemy to you."

So everyone molded some chakra and I concentrated on what it felt like. Itachi's was the strongest and it was a calm and soothing feeling. Kakashi's felt like snow-if that was possible. Rin's chakra was soft and warm like a blanket. Obito's was bitter like most of the other Uchiha's. Itachi's would be the easiest to find so I concentrated on his more than the others.

Soon all three ninja's disappeared into the night with their first target coordinates less than two kilometers away.

"Targets, spotted." Itachi whispered into the ear piece indicating Kakashi and I could leave for the bridge to start our part of the mission.

"The two high leveled ninja are at the very edge of the camp by the river." I whispered as we neared the bridge. Kakashi nodded and we headed toward the river. The tent was larger than the others and it was also a different color making it stand out considerably. It was gold with red lining while the others were an ugly shade of green.

"Kakashi, not all the teams are patrolling right now, half of them are asleep...has Itachi engaged the targets yet?" I asked.

Kakashi shook his head but soon caught on to what I was saying, " Itachi," he whispered into the radio. We waited for a moment then he replied, " What is it?" he asked.

"Half of the teams aren't patrolling they are sleeping, we could infiltrate the camp and kill them silently as they sleep."

There was a moment of silence before we got our reply, " Do it." That was all we needed to hear. Kakashi and I quickly entered the camp under a henge of two unlucky Shinobi. We entered tent after tent silently slitting throat after throat. Well Kakashi did, I just stabbed them with a senbon in the vocal cord and then in the heart. The victims never uttered a word or felt any pain, for their death was quick. Kakashi and I where half way through the camp when Itachi spoke through the radio,

" Suku next target."

"One kilometer west of your current position." I whispered while stabbing another Shinobi. I soon grew bored of just stabbing people so I touched their hearts with my chakra scalpel. The ninjas never awoke from their dreams again.

"Next Target." I thought for a moment, " Go about 300 meters then turn right."

Soon the camp lay silent, it was a desolate camp full of dead unmoving bodies was a bit eerie to be in. We moved to the large tent and waited for a moment as I tried to gauge their strength level.

"They are high Jounins." I whispered, it was barely audible but Kakashi understood. Nodding we entered the tent to find no other than Kimiko and Yumi from our previous mission. They and two others had ambushed us on the way back to Konoha from delivering a letter to the Tsuchikage.

"Well, well, well, lookie here Yumi. It's our friends from Konoha, they have come back to play." Kimiko laughed while drawing her twin blades.

Yumi licked her lips while looking Kakashi up and down, " I never got to finish playing with this one…can I Kimiko?"

Kimiko didn't take her eyes off me as she spoke, "Do what you want with him, but the little girl is mine."

Yumi cheered while pulling her own twin blades out, "Are you ready to die?" She asked playfully.

Kakashi just rolled his eyes as he drew his own sword. I looked Kimiko up and down, she hadn't changed she still had her long black hair but now it reached her butt.

"I think someone needs a haircut." I muttered while grabbing some senbon out of my pack.

"What did you say?!" Kimiko yelled as she charged. I ducked under her anger slashes and chops easily. But soon her rage melted away and she became her calm self again; this time however her slashes where faster and stronger. A few grazed me on the arm but it was nothing major. She jabbed at me with her left hand, crossing her arm over her body giving me an opening. I stabbed one of my senbon into her shoulder, just beneath the collar bone. Growling Kimiko jabbed at me with her right arm sword and grazed my waist.

"Next Target"

"Kind of busy Itachi…" I replied into the radio as I kicked Kimiko in the stomach. She flew back into one of the polls holding the tent up, which made the whole tent fall down. I jumped out and said, "Two more then you are done. First is….shit!" Kimiko appeared behind me stabbing the back of my shoulder.

"Damnit!" I hissed, while throwing a senbon at Kimiko's knee cap. The weapon connected and it went deep into her knee. She fell to the ground, and began to try and pull it out. I used this time to heal my shoulder, and relay the targets position to Itachi, "In the middle of the bridge." I grunted.

My shoulder healed quickly but Kimiko still sat on the ground with blood flowing from her knee. Taking the opportunity I charged yellow chakra into my hand and touched her head, making her eyes roll back and fall to the ground. I shoved a blood clotting pill down her throat to stop the bleeding in her knee. Can't have a dead prisoner now can we? I looked over and Kakashi was just finishing Yumi off but he was badly wounded. So once Yumi was dead I immediately went to his side to see the damage. Yumi had cut him deeply in the waist by the appendix. I gave him a blood clotting pill and immediately got to work on healing his injury.

"Next target" I had just finished healing Kakashi when I looked for the last team.

"Shit…" I muttered just as the team landed in front of Kakashi and I.


	8. Shit

"There are moments when, even to the sober eye of Reason, the world of our sad Humanity assumes the resemblance of Hell –Edgar Allen Poe

* * *

"Shit…" I muttered as the team landed in front of Kakashi and I.

"Suku, where is the next target?" Itachi asked through the radio. His voice was rough and tired.

"In front of me," I sighed and tossed Kakashi a solider pill. We both swallowed it and felt good as new; well I did, Kakashi looked a bit sore. I stood up and looked the team up and down. The Jounin was a man who looked about twenty. He had brown hair that was cut short and spiked and brown eyes; he wore the standard Jounin outfit with the exception of his headband that he wore around his arm. The two Chunin were also guys but they looked to be around sixteen. They were a head shorter than the Jounin, but they wore a traditional battle kimono. Though they each wore a different color; one wore red and black, the other wore green and black.

As I looked at them they only thing that stood out were their eyes. One had bright green with a hint of yellow and the other had electric blue eyes. And lastly was the small genin girl. She was a petite little girl who looked to be about seven; her dark purple hair was long and her bangs draped over dark blue eyes. She wore a white shirt that covered her hands, black pants and black ninja sandals.

She stood with her eyes on the ground, never holding eye contact with anyone. But when I did catcha glimpse of her eyes they held a sadness that I knew so well.

"Kakashi," I whispered, "Do you have any ideas?"

He shook his head, "Not really, but we fight as a team. By the way the Jounin stands and looks he is over-confident giving us an advantage. The two Chunin stand close to him so they will follow his lead, but I'm not sure the genin; she stands farther away and seems less confident."

"What is Konoha shit doing here?" The Jounin asked, and the two Chunin nodded in agreement.

"That is none of your concern." Kakashi replied.

Growling the Jounin grabbed two kunai, one in each hand, and said, "The hell it is! Tell me now or we will kill you slowly and painfully." And with the flick of his wrist, the two Chunin each drew their own kunai's while the genin girl did nothing. The Jounin took no notice as he was too wrapped up in his own little world. He didn't even take a look around him, everyone else was dead; and he was challenging the ones who did it

After we didn't reply again the Jounin decided it was time to attack.

"Haruko, you and I will fight the boy. Jiro, Rina take the girl, I'm sure Kimiko will like a little medic…" the Jounin licked his lips and got into a fighting stance. The two Chunin separated, Haruko went over to the Jounin and Jiro went over the Rina who slowly lifted her and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Leiko," Rina's voice was quiet yet strong, "Kimiko is dead and these ninja are the ones that killed her.I will not fight them." The Jounin now known as Leiko turned his head to look at her.

His face was twisted into an angry frown, "You will do as I say Rina! I am the leader dammit!"

Jiro smirked and shoved Rina toward me, "Do it Rina or I will kill you along with the Konoha shit."

"Do it Rina. Do it now!" Haruko yelled.

Rina trembled slightly but held her ground, "No," she whispered, "They are too strong. Kill them yourselves."

Growling in anger Jiro backhanded Rina. She fell the too ground and didn't get up.

The scene had ironically reminded me of my 'father' hitting me when I was to worn out to train. I had refused and he had hit me and tried the make me the only difference was that I hit him back. Rina did not; she stayed on the ground; as if she had given up.

"Dammit! Jiro take the girl now!" Leiko yelled while he and Haruko charged Kakashi.

So much for 'fighting as a team'.

Jiro appeared next to me and whispered in my ear, "Now come like a nice little girl and we can have some fun tonight."

"I don't think so." I replied coldly while punching him in the jaw. He flew back a few feet but was in front of me again. This time he got the first punch. He hit me straight in the stomach then tried to knee my face but I caught his knee and pushed it down. Then I punched him right under his jaw again; this time breaking it. But unlike a normal person he just hit his jaw back into place. Jiro shook his head and then charged me again. We exchanged a few more punches and kicks before he grabbed my hands and static began to form around his hands. I struggled and tried to get out of his grasp but he held my hands firm. Soon there was blue lightning crackling in his hands. Laughing Jiro slowly began to transfer the lightning across his hands and into mine.

Thinking quickly I summoned my yellow chakra into my hands just as the lightning hit my hands. But my yellow chakra didn't absorb it. And the lightning rippled through my body like dropping a rock into water. Jiro let my hands go and they dropped to my side. I fell to my knees in shock. Literally. My eyes had begun to shut and I remember the look on Kakashi's face as he saw me get carried away. They were leaving the clearing; taking me away, but the question was where?

As soon as Leiko saw Jiro take Suku he immediately left the clearing to follow Jiro; Haruko close behind him. Once the two left the clearing Rina stood up from the ground. Quietly cursing, Kakashi turned to Rina.

" Do you know where they are taking her?" He demanded angrily.

Rina brushed the dirt off her clothes and thought for a moment.

"They most likely took her to the base North of here." Rina replied. Nodding Kakashi was about to leave the clearing and meet Itachi when Rina spoke up.

"I can take you to the base, I've been there before. Please just don't leave me here." She dropped her head and looked at the ground. Kakashi wasn't sure if he should leave or let her come. After all she will be able to help them find Suku, but there is always a chance that she is lying and will kill them in their sleep. Shrugging Kakashi decided that Itachi can make the final decision.

"You may meet up with my captain. If he says it's okay then you are able to stay."

Rina did not smile but her eyes lit up and there was more pep in her step than before.

* * *

"Kakashi, where is Suku?"

Kakashi suddenly became nervous under Itachi's gaze but he held his ground.

" Suku was healing me when the last team attacked us. And during the attack they captured Suku and took her to a larger base just north of here."

Itachi stood stock still, his face did not change; it remained as emotionless as ever.

"How do you know she is going to be in the base north of here?" Itachi asked his tone so cold that it could slice you in two.

"Rina," Kakashi pointed toward her, "Was on the team that attacked us. She says she will take us to the base, though I'm not sure why she decided to help us."

Itachi looked Rina up and down and soon stared into her eyes as he spoke, "Why would you want to help us?"

Rina became very uncomfortable under his unwavering stare; she looked down at the ground before she spoke, "The Tsuchikage wishes to control me and my Kekki Genki and use me as a living weapon. I do not wish to go back to that terrible village that sees me as a monster."

"Why would they see you as a monster?" Rin asked. She, Obito, and Itachi looked tired and had a few minor cuts.

"Because of my Kekki Genki." Rina replied still looking at the ground.

Using this opportunity Obito decided to speak up, "What is it? Can you not control it or something?"

Finally lifting her head, Rina huffed and glared at Obito, "Oh I can control it, hell I have almost mastered it." Rina's whole attitude had suddenly changed when Obito started questioning her strength. It seemed she hated people doubting her and Kakashi and Itachi picked up on that.

Rolling his eyes, Obito walked closer to her and whispered, "Then what's the problem?"

"Your tiny brain wouldn't be able to comprehend it even if I told you." Rina replied with a small smirk on her face.

'Why is she challenging Obito?' Kakashi thought, 'Can she sense how strong he is and think she can beat him? Hmm come to think of it she knew Suku and I were strong. Maybe that's why she did not want to fight us. And her teammates kept pushing **her **to attack us. Is she really that strong?'

"What did you say traitor?" Obito asked.

"Pfff, I'm no traitor but at least-

"Enough!" Itachi yelled, "Obito shut up and stop antagonizing her, and you," He pointed toward Rina, "Tell me your full name and your abilities. If you do not then we will find Suku ourselves and leave you here to die."

"Fine, my name is Takahashi Rina; and my Kekki Genki is called the Kirkata, it allows me to one: summon a chakra whip from my two index fingers; it cuts threw anything and no metal weapon can deflect it. Two: once I master the whip I get a contract with the falcons. But they are different from your normal Falcons; they track chakra by its scent and power level. And finally the most powerful one; when I master my whip, and have a solid bond with the falcons I will get chakra tattoo's that will allow me to summon animals and weapons right out of my tattoos."

Rin gasped while pointing toward her covered arms, "You have tattoo's don't you…"

Rina just nodded but did not make any indication that she wanted to show them.

"Oh please, there is no way a wimpy girl like her could have chakra tattoos. They are one of the most painful things you could ever go through besides torture." Obito said trying to bait Rina to show him the tattoos.

"Sorry Uchiha, there is no way I'm going to show you my chakra tattoos."

"Wait, how did you know I was an Uchiha? I haven't even told you my name yet.."Obito asked while stroking his chin as if he had a beard.

"It doesn't matter," Itachi said getting everyone attention, "We need to contact the Yondaime about this. We don't move until he orders us too." Everyone nodded their heads and Rina suddenly had an idea.

" Do you have a bird to send?" She asked while she slowly tugged on her left sleeve.

"Unfortunately no, we don't." He said but he soon caught onto her idea, "Takahashi, send your fastest bird."

Nodding Rina quickly went through a series of hand seals then, a poof of smoke appeared around Rina and when it dissipated a falcon was perched on her shoulder. The falcon was fairly small, with blackish red feathers and green eyes.

"Rina-sama," the falcon bowed its head, " It's good to see you. How may I assist you?"

"Rakurai it's good to see you too. I need your help, please take this," Itachi handed Rina the message, " to Konoha, and give it only to the Yondaime: Namikaze Minato."

The falcon now known as Rakurai looked around at the Konoha -nin though his gaze lingered on Obito and Itachi longer than the others, " I will do as ordered, but please Rina-sama tell me about your recent affairs as Shikai demands it."

"I understand, I will speak to you when you return." Rina kissed the top of Rakurai's head before he flew off into the distance.

"And now we wait…"

* * *

Suku's POV

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I tried to open my eyes, but the darkness remained dominant. My eye lids where heavy and refused to open. My body was deadened. Unmoving, cold…. I felt myself slowly slipping away. I tried to fight it, I tried to keep awake, but its' warm bliss seduced me into its loving embrace.

*Dream 3rd POV*

"Suku, Suku where are you?" A voice called.

"I know that voice," Whispered Suku as she began to walk through the white coated forest.

"Itachi! Where are you!" She yelled running faster and faster threw the forest.

"Suuukkuuu…." A different voice whispered. Suku's eyes widened, immediately stops and turns around, with a look of pure terror on her face.

"My little Suku, don't be afraid," The figure said as it grew closer to her, "I won't hurt you…"

The figure's hand slowly touched her cheek. Suku closed her eyes as his hand traveled down toward her collar bone.

"No, no…no," She whispered as he pushed himself onto her.

"Don't be afraid I won't hurt you," He repeated as he tore off her clothes.

"Stop, stop…"Suku said while struggling to get out of his grasp. But her cries fell on deaf ears, tears rolled down her face as she tried with all her might not to scream.

"No!"Suku yelled, wide awake with fear; her eyes were no longer heavy. As she began to wake up, Suku felt a painful prickle at her finger tips, it grew then suddenly all the memories of torture and pain flooded Suku's memory. The pedophile from her nightmares tortured her by day and haunted her dreams by night. No matter what she couldn't escape the mental or physical pain he inflicted on her daily. Suku bit her lip as the numb sensation of unconsciousness wore off, letting all the damage from yesterday resurface.

A small whimper escaped her lips when she looked at her wounds: A long cut ran from her wrist to her elbow, an ugly purple bruise ,the size of a grapefruit was on inside of her thigh, her left arm was broken in ways never thought possible; three of her left hand fingers were broken, and multiple cuts and bruises accompanied the other wounds on Suku's body.

It had been three days sense she had been captured.

'Maybe they aren't coming for me,' thought Suku, 'But I will escape, weather they come for me or not.'

Suku spent the hours she was alone thinking of an air tight plan, because she was only going to get one chance.

* * *

After a day in a half Rakurai returned to the camp with a letter from the Hokage. Itachi quickly opened the scroll and began reading it.

_Itachi, _

_I will send a team to meet you and they will help your team infiltrate the Northern Base. They should arrive by night fall. Your first priority is to save Suku, but I want you to destroy the base in the process. The bridge that you destroyed crippled Iwa and Kumo heavily and it shows, but they are persistent bastards; they continue to attack our main force and we are steadily losing Shinobi, if this goes on any longer we will lose more than half of our Shinobi force. We need your team to completely wipe out that base. That will be our only hope of stopping this pointless war. _

_-Yondaime Namikaze Minato _

After Itachi finished reading the scroll he threw it up in the air, made a few hands seals and lit it on fire; making it a useless pile of ash.

"Uchiha-san" Asked Rina, "May I talk to Rakurai in private for a minute?"

Itachi nodded then pointed toward the edge of the clearing; it was far enough so no one would eavesdrop yet close enough for Itachi to keep an eye on her.

Rina quickly left with Rakurai toward the spot Itachi pointed toward.

"Rakurai, is Shikai-sama anger with my decision to betray Kumo?" Rina asked nervously.

Rakurai shook his head, "No, just confused with your actions. He wishes to speak to you tonight, though he will not physically be here. So please start the first stage of **Mukei Koushou******(spiritual connection). I will explain Mukei Koushou to Itachi-san and how it works. Now please get started this will take you all night."

Rina nodded, sat down under a tree and closed her eyes. Rakurai flew over to Itachi and landed lightly on his shoulder.

"Excuse me Itachi-san but I need to speak to you, it's about Rina-sama." The falcon whispered.

"Very well," He said while walking a couple of feet away from the group.

"Rina-sama will be conducting Mukei Koushou tonight. She will be in deep meditation for hours, and will not be connected to this world."

"What do you mean not connected?" Itachi asked.

"She will be physically, but her mind will be in the spirit realm. You will not be able to speak with her till she is done and her mind connects back to her body. Rina will be speaking with Shikai-sama, the lord of falcons; and while she is in the spiritual realm she will be surrounded by shadow falcons."

"Shadow falcons…" Itachi whispered, " I have heard of them somewhere…"

"They are the guardians of those who are blessed by Shikai. They will protect Rina if any complications arise. Also please do not approach Rina; the Shadow Falcons will attack anyone that comes near her, weather you're an enemy or not."

"I understand, I will tell the others," Itachi said. Seeing the conversation was over Rakurai flew off his shoulder and landed beside Rina.

When Itachi reached the others Obito decided it was time to open his big mouth again.

"So what is the shrimp up too?" He asked while eyeing Rina under the tree.

"Obito," Itachi warned, "Don't even think about going over there. She is speaking to Shikai, the Lord of Falcons, so just leave her alone. If you don't you will most likely die."

Obito frowned, and was about to open his mouth when there was a rustle in the trees on the other side of the clearing; near Rina.

Itachi lifted his hand, the signal for silence, then formed a fist, the signal to prepare for an attack.

Then, four figures appeared in the clearing. They emerged from the tree line, shadowed by the lack of light.

"Who is the leader of this team?" A man asked.

Itachi stepped forward without hesitation and said, "I'm glad our reinforcements came as swiftly as the Hokage said they would."

The leader then nodded to his team, and the team stepped forward toward the fire. The leader had long grey hair in a pony tail, dark blue eyes almost black, and he was easily taller than everyone else.

"My name is Hatake Sakumo," the leader now known as Sakumo, said, "I believe you know Mitarashi Anko, Shiranui Genma, and Tsunade-hime; we are your reinforcements. I have read each of your files, so I know all of your abilities and weaknesses. Her-" Sakumo pointed toward Rina, " However I know nothing about. So someone fill me in on why there is a Kumo -Nin here."

It was quiet for a moment before Itachi stepped forward, "Taichou, she is our guild. Kakashi fought with her team, and she has decided to betray her country and help us."

"Can she be trusted?" Sakumo asked while eyeing Rina.

"Yes, we can for now. She has cooperated and even helped us. It was her falcon that sent the message for reinforcements. However Taichou, she is a Takahashi; a powerful one, as she is blessed by Shikai." Itachi replied.

Sakumo 'hmmed' and thought for a moment, " Then we will keep her on our side for now. Anko, I want you to keep an eye on her. If you see any deception or any attempt to betray us, bind her with your snakes and notify me."

"Understood." Anko replied.

"As for the rest of you," Sakumo said looking around, " I am your new captain, when I tell you to do something you do it. If you argue with me or question my authority I will personally see to it that you are demoted till you learn to respect your leaders and captains. Tsunade is second in command, and you will show her the same respect. Now, we will split into two teams: Kakashi, Rin, Obito, Genma, and I will be the distraction and main assault team. Tsunade, Takahashi, Itachi, and Anko will sneak in find Suku then help us with the base."

After plans for tomorrow where made, everyone laid down to get some sleep.

"Kakashi you have the first watch." Sakumo ordered


	9. I thought I was safe

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans."

Peter F. Drucker

* * *

The soft glow of the rising sun filled the sky with water colors of pink and purple. As if smeared on a painting, the colors mixed and blended perfectly making soft lavender.

A team of nine moved swiftly through the deciduous forest. A thin blanket of snow lay fresh on the ground; to avoid unwanted noise the team traveled on the bare, leafless, branches. Rina lead the group toward the Northern base confidently, never doubting a single step she took. Once they reached the base, with a swift nod to Tsunade, Sakumo and his team took off into a different direction. Tsunade however picked up a stick and began drawing a formation in the dirty snow. Instead of the usual line, or arrow formation it was in the shape of a diamond.

"We will be traveling in a tight diamond formation. Takahashi will take the point of the diamond, Itachi, and Anko will take the sides and I will take the back. When we find Suku, I will carry her and the formation will change. I will take point, Takahashi and Anko will flank the sides while Itachi will bring up the rear. Any questions?"

Rina spoke while looking at the diagram Tsunade drew, "Why a diamond formation? The arrow has been used in rescue missions countless times."

"But," Tsunade answered, "Their mission was solely a rescue missions. Ours is not, we are to save Suku and join Sakumo's team in destroying the base. If we traveled in an arrow formation we are easy to pick off; the diamond formation however is strong. You will only have to cover one direction as you fight, and your teammates will cover there's."

"Tsunade," the team quieted as Itachi spoke, "What is your plan on infiltrating the base undetected and getting Suku out without any complications?"

Tsunade thought for a moment then spoke, "I cannot honestly say that we won't have any trouble on getting in or out of the base. However, I plan to enter the base when Sakumo starts his attack. That way everyone will be busy with the attack that they won't notice us."

"Ahh, a diversion…." Anko said quietly.

"If you don't have any other questions we should get going. Takahashi lead the way to where they keep their prisoners."

* * *

Suku's POV

"How many days have I been here?" I asked hoarsely. My throat was dry, and I had gotten to the point where I was completely numb; much to the disappointment of my torturer.

"Shut up," He growled, kicking me in the stomach. I spit out some blood, and I was surprised to see I actually had some left. My hands where bound by chakra ropes as a hung from the ceiling.

"You haven't spilled any secrets about your village and I think you won't so you are no use me or my country." He said while slowly pulling out a 12 inch knife. My torturer then ran toward me from across the room.

BOOM!

The ground shook, and a huge ball of fire crashed into the base. My torturer then lost his balance and the knife embedded into my left leg. He got up quickly from the ground and ran outside. I let the pain over come me as my eyes slowly closed. My body went numb and only one thought went through my mind before I slipped into dreamlessness. Itachi had finally come back for me, I was safe.

* * *

"That's the signal move out!" Tsunade yelled as everyone jumped into the diamond formation. The team quickly made its way to the south gate, where a large make-shift building.

"There's the intruders! Kill them!" A ninja yelled as Tsunade's team came into view.

Two ninja's joined the first and they all ran at the team.

"Takahashi! Take them out." Tsunade yelled from the rear. Already a step ahead of her, Rina summoned her chakra whip from her index and middle finger. She then lashed out her whip toward the ninja cutting them in half.

The team didn't break their run as the building became closer and closer; and soon the building was before them. But then Rina suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. There in the snow was a girl, who was about 10 years old. Her hair was a dark shade of red and her eyes where brown. She wore a blue long sleeved shirt and long black pants on that looked too big for her.

"Karin what are you doing here?" Rina asked.

"Rina you have disgraced our village for the last time," Karin said as her hands crackled with electricity, "So it's time you die…slowly and painfully."

"Tsunade," Rina said slowly, "Suku is in the underground caverns on the left side. Go, I will handle Karin."

Tsunade nodded and the team disappeared amidst the chaos.

* * *

Clashes of the metal, and jutsu's where heard throughout the base, but one sound stood out from all the rest. It was the unusual sound of chakra hitting chakra; the hiss, crackle and rumble that would shake the base.

Rina and Karin stood panting a couple feet away from each other. Each one having multiply cuts on their arms and legs.

"Karin," Rina called out, "Why do you serve this disgusting village so willingly?"

Spitting blood out Karin answered, "I am loyal to those I love, unlike you. You will betray anyone in a blink of an eye if it involves finding your brother. He is dead Rina. The easier you accept it the easier you can get on with your life. Unfortunately though, your life is over; prepare to die!" Karin ran at Rina with a fist of electricity. Rina jumped into the air, pulled up her sleeve, and bit her thumb. She then smeared it across two of her chakra tattoos.

A cloud of smoke appeared, and filled the clearing, making it impossible to see anything. The crackle of lightning quieted till it was a dull whistle. A gust of air suddenly exploded around Rina and the smoke disappeared revealing two falcons on her shoulder.

"Rakurai and ******Uindo** at your service Rina-sama." The two falcons said in unison.

"I need your ability Uindo and your speed Rakurai." Rina panted while keeping her eyes on Karin.

"Rina-sama," Rakurai asked softly, " Why are we fighting Karin-chan?"

Rina shook her head, " Not now Rakurai, we'll talk later. Uindo, Rakurai lets go!" Rina ran at Karin a bit faster than before. Lightning crackled again in Karin's fist as she too ran at Rina. Karin threw the first punch toward Rina's face, who jumped back and punched the air by Karin's stomach. The air exploded by her stomach and Karin flew back into the forest, breaking a few trees.

'Rina-sama must be getting serious (about the fight) if she brought you out Uindo' Rakurai said telepathically.

'Yes, she hasn't fought with me sense she was in trouble in the Genin Exams. Karin-chan is an opponent who's abilities match up to Rina-sama's. Didn't they use to be friends, Rakurai?' Uindo asked.

'Yes, they did. But once Rina-sama became a Genin and Karin didn't; Karin began to hate to Rina-sama for always being better than her. I guess the only reason Karin wants to kill her is so she can prove she is stronger than Rina-sama.'

'Rina-sama will and cannot die, Shikai-sama wouldn't allow it.'

Karin emerged from the tree line, blood dripping out of the corner of her mouth.

"What the hell was that?!" Karin yelled.

"That was Uindo's ability. She gives me the power over wind. Now, I have no desire to talk with you. Let's begin where we left off a year ago."

Karin smirked, "Gladly Rini." Rina grimaced when she heard her old nickname.

"Opps," Karin said innocently, "That's was what your brother used to call you. Too bad he is dead, he was such a hottie."

"Shut up!" Rina yelled while running toward Karin, "Just shut up!" Karin got into her clan defense stance and prepared for Rina's attack. In a blink of an eye Rina began her onslaught on Karin. Her destructive rage would not be satisfied until Karin was dead.

* * *

Tsunade and her team made it into the underground caverns but the hallways where long and held many rooms. The process was slow and it soon began to aggravate a certain Uchiha.

"This is taking forever. For all we know she could be dying right now. We need a new tactic."

"Uchiha calm down. We will just split up, mark ever door you check with an arrow with the direction you are going."

Everyone nodded and the three took off in different directions.

~ With Itachi~

He opened door after door each one empty. His heart filled with hope every time he came to a new one, but the end result was the same over and over. But Itachi kept going, hoping that every door he opened he would see Suku standing there waiting for him. She'd say " What took you so long?" Smile and run into his arms. He would clutch her so tight, to afraid to let go. To afraid to lose her.

Itachi turned the corner and came to a long hallway with no doors on either side; just one door at the end of the hallway.

'This has to be it' He thought as he raced to the door. When he reached the door he stood looking at it.

'Why am I hesitating?' he asked himself. So he slowly stuck out his hand, gripped the door knob and opened the door. It looked like a bath room yet it didn't have the stalls or sinks. There was tile on the floors and walls. He slowly walked into the room and accidently bumped into some kind of metal cart with knives, pillars, nails, hammer, and needles.

"Itachi?" A voice asked hoarsely, " Is that you?"

"Suku!" Itachi called while looking to see where the voice came from.

"Over here." The voice responded. Itachi turned the corner and the site before him made him fall to his knees. Suku's hands where bound and hung from the ceiling. Her clothes didn't even cover her body anymore as they were ripped so badly. Itachi could see all the cuts, and bruises from her hellish nightmare inflicted by her torturer. Finally, Itachi ran to her. He quickly destroyed the chakra chains and caught her as she fell. He took out the knife in her leg, and saw how her body had become fragile, something very usual for Suku. Suku had lost her complexion completely as she was chalk-white. Her lips were blue and her breathing became irregular. She was fading from this world. Fast.

Noticing she was indeed dying, Itachi raced through the corridors back to their meeting spot; Tsunade and Anko soon appeared next to him.

"Itachi, give me her quickly!" Tsunade yelled, seeing the condition she was in.

Both Anko and Itachi backed up, giving Tsunade room to do her work. She quickly shoved three blood replenishes drown her throat. They took immediate effect, but Tsunade was not done. She got to work on repairing tissue, bones, cuts, and bruises. It took an hour to complete but color returned to Suku's face and body. Her breathing evened out, and her heart no longer faltered.

"There is no way she is going to be able to fight. Nor with I allow it." Tsunade said once they reached Sakumo and his team. Who had briefly taken cover in one of the fallen buildings.

Sakumo 'hmmed' while looking Suku up and down, who was sleeping on Tsunade's back.

"Fine, but I need you and your teams help. My team is tired and needs a break; they will watch over Suku while you help me kill the rest of the ninja's here.

"Alright-

"No." Itachi growled, "Suku was taken when she was with him- (Kakashi) I don't trust him with her."

"Itachi we will not have this discussion now. You will come with me or I will report you for insubordination." Sakumo threatened, "Now let's go."

With one last look at Suku, Itachi left with the others.

* * *

Genma held Suku protectively as she slept. He only let Rin touch her, as she was the make-shift doctor till Tsunade returned. Kakashi sat farthest away from her, his head down. He was to ashamed of how he didn't do anything when they had taken her. The memory replayed itself over and over in his head. Silent tears fell to the ground, as he knew he could have prevented all the pain and suffering she went through. Itachi had ever right to be mad at him; everyone did….

Well except Obito. He showed no remorse of sympathy for Suku. He never once looked at her, asked about her, no nothing. He thought she got what she deserved. Obito was going to go and thank who ever kidnapped her and tortured her; heck he was going to pay them if she died.

Soon the base came to an eerie silence as Sakumo and the rest of the team walked into the fallen building.

"Let's go." Sakumo ordered. Once everyone was outside and out of the base Sakumo raised his hand and everyone got into formation. He then brought it down and the team left in a blur with only their destruction in their wake.

* * *

"How is she?" A man asked.

"She is fine physically. I have no idea mentally, if I may suggest having a Yamanaka look at her." A female voice answered.

"Very well I will send one over. How bad was the torture?" The man asked.

"Bad. Fractured arm, multiple stab wounds, severely bruised, and Hokage-sama….she was raped multiple times."

The man sighed deeply, "I'll send the Yamanaka immediately."

~Suku POV~

I slowly opened my eyes. I looked around and found myself once again in the hospital. There were cards and flowers all over the place like the last time. But this time there were two flower arrangements. One of them had a large Lotus, and a few Azaleas. The other had Pink Magnolia's and White Momo's in them. The Lotus flower arrangement was from Kakashi, and the Pink Magnolia's were from Itachi.

I then surveyed the damage. My whole body was wrapped in bandages, and I could barely move my left leg. I tried to sit up but a sharp pain in my abdomen made she sit down again.

Then suddenly the door opened and walked in a man I have never seen before. He looked to be about twenty, he had long blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"My name is Yamanaka Inoichi and I am here to check your mental health." He said. The Hokage stood in the door way silently watching. I turned to look at him and he nodded his head. Inoichi then placed his hands on my ears and told me to shut my eyes and relax.

Inoichi traveled into Suku memories. He came across the memory of Itachi finding Suku and her being healed by Tsunade. But he couldn't find the memories of her torture. So he slowly pulled out of her mind to speak with the Hokage. (Suku is asleep)

"Sir, I believe she locked away her memories of her torture deep into her subconscious. With your permission, I would like to travel into her subconscious and open those memories."

Minato thought for a moment, "Will this hurt her?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. She will feel a bit of pain, because I have to force those memories out. But it will not cause any damage to the brain." Inoichi answered.

"Inoichi, if keeping these memories locked up will keep her mentally stable then I will not let you dig in her mind to open them. So I will ask you right now, is she currently mentally stable?"

"She is sir, but if we can find something about our enemies that we can use against them like if she saw or heard something then it would be worth it." Inoichi replied.

"I** will not** risk her mental stability for something that might not even be there." Minato answered not too nicely.

"But what if she did! This could end the war and save countless lives!" Inoichi argued.

"Inoichi I said no. If anything Takahashi Rina will no something. She actually fought for Kumo, and knows how they operate and she is already being questioned by Mitarashi Anko." Minato said firmly.

"But-

"Do not push it Yamanaka." Minato warned, "Your assistance is no longer needed here. Leave."

Inoichi stomped out of the room angrily but he left none the less.

"Rabbit." Minato called. An Anbu from outside poked their head in.

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"I want two Anbu stationed here. Nobody besides me, Tsunade, or Suku's team is allowed in this room. No one else." Minato ordered.

"Hai!" Rabbit said as he disappeared.

The Hokage sighed, "Always causing problems Suku, just like your mother…"

* * *

I awoke the next morning with a splintering head ache.

"Ow," I said while rubbing my temples.

"Have a headache?"

I looked around to see Itachi sitting in a chair next to my bed.

"Yea, I don't know why though." I replied while scooting over to make room for him to sit down. Itachi got up and laid next to me. He gently pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me.

"I knew you would find me." I whispered. He kissed the top of my head and said, "I'm here and I'm never leaving you. Now get some sleep."

I closed my eyes and Itachi's words echoed in my mind. 'I'm here, and I'm never leaving you.'

When I woke up again it was dark and the clock said 2:55. I tried shutting my eyes and falling back asleep but it was no use. Itachi had left earlier he had family matters to attend to. I understood and let him go. But it was so cold without him. I looked around and saw the window was open. I sat up slowly, moved my legs to the end of the bed and rested for a moment. With the support of my of the bed I got up and painfully walked to the window. I reached up to shut the window when I was grabbed from behind. The figure put a hand over my mouth the hit the back of my neck. I fell to the floor unconscious.

* * *

Inoichi placed Suku on the bed, then he began to search through her memories again. This time intent on finding the memory deep in her subconscious that was locked up for a reason.

* * *

Dunn Dunnn DUNNNNNN!!!! Yay! I have finished chapter 9!!! Wow that took awhile to write.


	10. Happiness is it possible?

"We cannot change our memories, but we can change their meaning and the power they have over us" David Seamands

* * *

It seemed like Inoichi was searching for hours. Each memory was inside a door, what the door looked like depended on the memory. A normal, uninteresting memory was a plain oak door. As Inoichi traveled deeper, the more he found out about Suku. Her first mission memory was behind a large dark blue door. Blue represents health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness. Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness. But there was a hint of dark purple on the bottom of the door; which meant later on in the memory she felt a bit of gloom and saddness.

A lot of her memories of Itachi were colored a light red, or pink; representing joy, passion, sensitivity, love and friendship. This did not surprise Inoichi much, as he knew about the relationship between the two. Heck, the whole village did.

The next memory he opened was the training with Anko, and the fight between Suku and Itachi in the forest of death. This memory held so many different emotions from rage, understanding, frustration, power and healing. Inoichi quickly skipped the memory and continued his journey.

~Earlier that night~

Itachi and Shisui sat before the Uchiha Council; each one a bit nervous, but neither showed it. The room was dimly lit, and you could barely make out the faces of the group of elders. They all sat in a circle with Itachi and Shisui in the middle.

"Do you know why we have summoned you?" the Head Elder asked.

"No, sir." They replied in unison.

"Very well, we have summoned you two because we believe you are capable of becoming Anbu. You two are far stronger than the puny Jounin rank. We need to show everyone that the Uchiha Clan is the strongest in the village, stronger than the Hyuuga's. So you are to go to the Hokage tomorrow, and request to be tested. You will pass the test, failure will not be tolerated."

After seeing Suku's whole life story, Inoichi finally found it. He walked up to the door and looked up. It was a huge black iron door with massive silver chains coiling around it.

'Maybe I shouldn't do this….Nahh I will be a hero' Inoichi then began to slowly destroy the chains.

As the silver chains crashed to the floor, the door slowly creaked open. Then a thick, smoke-like cloud inched out from behind the door. The dark fog moved to every inch of Suku's mind, till all Inoichi could see was a blanket of a deep purple haze. Getting a bit nervous Inoichi slowly made his way toward the hauntingly open door. As he entered the memory it seemed like he was being sucked in, like he couldn't leave the memory if he wanted to. So he watched, and felt everything Suku herself went through. The pain, suffering, and loneliness felt as real as if he were experiencing it himself. He dropped to his knees gasping for air, when the memory was over.

'I have to get out of here!'He mentally screamed. So Inoichi quickly made the correct hand seals the release the Jutsu.

As Inoichi returned to his body, he could hear Suku's screams of agony and pain.

Suku clutched her head, her fingers weaved through her air and griping it tightly. Her screams were heard throughout the hospital as nurses and doctors came running.

"Pin her down!" A doctor yelled while getting a shot out.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Suku screamed as yellow chakra became visible around both her hands. Tears rolled down her face, yet her facial expression was one of pure rage.

The two Anbu outside rushed into the room.

"Everyone out," One of the Anbu yelled, but no one moved, "NOW!" Jumping in fright, the nurses and doctors scurried out of the room. Suku sat in a crouch position on her bed, waiting for the Anbu to make their move. They however remained still, though they never took their eyes off Suku. The door slowly opened and the Hokage walked in.

"What happened?" He asked while looking Suku up and down.

"She suddenly started screaming, the doctors rushed in and were about to sedate her when she turned hostile. So we took over till you arrived."

The Yondaime slowly walked toward Suku, each step making her flinch.

"Get away from me." She growled sharply.

"Suku, what happened?" He asked softly. More tears rolled down her face and fell onto the sheets of the bed.

"Don't touch me. Get away. Stay away from me. Stop. Please stop. No. No NO!!" Suku clutched her head again this time rocking back and forth on her heels.

As the Hokage heard her muttering, he instantly knew what happened. He looked around in the room but saw no one else except for his two Anbu.

"Find Yamanaka Inoichi and have Mitarashi Anko interrogate him!"

"Yes sir!"

"Suku, it's okay," The Yondaime cooed. Something happened to Suku when he spoke. His voice was like a blanket, comforting, soft, and warm. Her rocking slowed and her grip on her hair loosened. Her tear filled eyes looked up at the Yondaime and whispered, "I thought I locked it up…I didn't want to remember it. I don't want to remember _**him**_."

"I know, I know." Minato whispered back, while pulling her into a hug. She clung on to him for dear life and buried her head into his chest. Her sobs quieted till they were non-existent, and her breathing evened out. Minato sighed in relief, and moved Suku onto her bed. He pulled the sheets up to her chin and sat in the chair next to her bed.

An hour later the Anbu appeared back in the hospital room.

"Hokage-sama, Inoichi has been detained and is under interrogation as we speak with Anko."

"Thank you, that is all."

The morning came quickly, maybe too quickly for some; but the sun picked itself up and rose above the mountains. The rays of light filled Suku's room and erased all the darkness. Her eyes twitched then slowly opened. Suku sat up and looked down at her hands, trembling.

"Why me?" She asked herself, trying to hold back the tears. No matter how much she hated crying or how hard she tried to hold it in, it was no use. The tears flowed down her face once again, threatening to never stop. Suku closed her eyes but was immediately bombarded with the memory of those horrible four days. Her eyes shot open and she sobbed again, clutching the blankets. She then rolled up into a ball, like she had done so many years ago. The position was comfortable, and it was a familiar feeling of her own warmth.

That's how Minato found Suku that afternoon, when he came to visit. She had refused to eat anything the nurses gave to her. If anyone got to close to her she would become hostile again, so everyone just left her alone; just the way she wanted it.

"Suku, you need to eat something," Minato said as he sat down in his usual chair next to her bed.

"I'm not hungry," She answered dryly.

"You will slowly die if you don't eat anything, Suku." He replied casually. Suku, who had been looking out the window, finally looked over at Minato.

"Maybe….it's better if I die." Suku whispered, her hand started to glow yellow. She stared down at her glowing hand and moved it slowly toward her chest. Seeing what she intended to do, Minato grabbed her wrist, and held it firmly.

"Do you truly wish to die?" Minato inquired, "Just die for your own selfish purposes, leaving Itachi all lone. Are you willing to put Itachi, Kakashi, Tsunade, Anko, Genma, Gai, and more through the pain of losing someone they consider a friend or more than a friend?"

Suku looked into his eyes for a long time then finally shook her head, "I don't want to die. I just want this to go away."

"Listen Suku," Minato said softly, "There are always things people want to forget or would want to change if they could. This is one of them, so what you can do is overcome it, accept it and move one. Life is always going to be full of trails that you must triumph over, and when you do there is always going to be more lurking in the shadows. So concur the challenges, and live in a blissful happiness with the ones you love and care for."

Tears fell from Suku's eyes but these were not tears of sorrow they were tears of happiness. A small smile graced her lips as she spoke, "Thank you, Hokage-sama." She whispered.

"My friends and family refer to me as Minato. So please call me Minato."

Suku's eyes lit up and she nodded her head, speechless.

"Now, eat the food the nurses bring you and be the good patient that I know you can be. I have to get back to work but I will visit you again later."

The Yondaime then left, shutting the door behind him. Suku looked up and the ceiling took a deep breath and shut her eyes. The memories instantly hit her like a brick wall, knocking the air out of her. She regained her composure and slowly started to re-live the memories so they would no longer shock or hurt her again.

Suku's recovery was slow but steady, both physically and mentally. Even though her torturer still haunted her dreams, she was beginning to get use to it. The Hokage was a regular visitor, his visits varying all different times of the day. Suku had grown to like Minato and saw him as a father she never had. The two had long discussions about numerous things, whether it was the war or life in general; the two always had something to talk about. She looked forward to his visits everyday and made up a guessing game to when he would show up. Itachi had visited about every other day, mostly at night. He at told her that he was joining the Anbu soon. Suku was happy for him yet saddened that they wouldn't see each other as much anymore. He talked about his family, and the war. Itachi had said the war was finally slowing and coming to an end soon.

Destroying the bridge and Northern Base had done exactly what they hoped for. It crippled Kumo and Iwa to the point where they were steadily running out of supplies. Both sides saw the damage it had done, and Kumo had already lost over half of their military. So Konoha was expecting them to surrender in the near future. To pass time, Suku wrote in a journal Minato had given her. It was a dark red leather bound journal with blank cream pages, just waiting to be written on. She wrote in it almost every day even though nothing exciting ever happened in the hospital. Suku did become a good patient like Minato had asked her too. She ate all the food the nurses brought her and she took all the medication without any complaints.

~Three months later~

"Finally," Suku whispered as she left the hospital, "I'm free again." It was a beautiful spring day, the Sakura trees were in full bloom, there was a slight breeze, and there were no clouds in sight. As she walked to her front door, Suku caught a glimpse of her garden. Her wonderful garden had become overgrown and unkempt from the lack of attention it so desperately needed. Sighing she dropped to her knees and carefully began to trim and pull out the many weeds that had overrun her garden. When the sun fell Suku was nowhere near being done with her garden. So she decided she would work on it tomorrow after her meeting with Tsunade and The Council. Ugh she was dreading the meeting with the Council. Suku knew that they would bombard her with questions like, 'Are you mentally stable?' or 'Are you a danger to yourself or others?' Suku dragged her feet through her dusty house and plopped onto the bed; already asleep.

~Suku POV~

I was supposed to talk with Tsunade before I met with the Council. So I found her in her office, waiting for me.

" I am coming to meet the Council with you today. But I want to prepare you, so when they ask you questions you will say the right thing, because they hold your future in the palm of their hands. Your record of successful missions and skills as a ninja should speak for itself but sometimes they don't care about that. If they don't like you they will strip you of your ninja rank just because they see you as 'unfit to be a ninja'. I have seen it happen before but I will not let that happen to you." And so my mini-training on how to speak to the Council began. The training only took about thirty minutes but I was ready.

Tsunade and I walked through the door and into a large conference room. It held a round large oak table in the center of the room with nine chairs around the table. I recognized a few of the Council members: Uchiha Fugaku, and Hyuuga Hiashi. The Yondaime sat at the end of the table with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Homura was and elder man with short gray hair and green glasses. Koharu also had gray hair though it was pulled up in a bun with chop sticks. I also noticed that all clan heads from all the major clans were on the council: Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Yamanaka and Uchiha.

"Ahem, well let's getting this meeting going. Senshi Suku we have called you here today to ask you a few questions on your imprisonment in Kumo's Northern Base. Question One: Did you hear or see anything while you were captured?" Minato declared.

"No sir. My torturer never spoke of anything about Kumo or Iwa, nor did I see anything."

"You where kept there for how many days?" Uchiha Fugaku inquired while eyeing me up and down.

"Four days, sir." I replied.

"And you never heard or saw anything?" Fugaku questioned again looking at me with disbelief.

"No sir. I was being tortured the whole time." I answered, trying to keep calm.

"Very well," Minato announced, " Next question: Have you suffered from any mental damage of the torture?"

"I have, but I am mentally stable now sir. Tsunade herself has examined me and has determined I am indeed fine." I responded firmly, but I could see some of the council members were not convinced.

"How is it that you recovered so fast from your mental breakdown?" The head of the Yamanaka clan asked.

"It is not that I recovered from my memories, it's that I conquered my memories of the torture."

"What do you mean?" He asked (Yamanaka)

"I re-lived my memories over and over till I was no longer frightened of them." I replied slowly, hoping that was the answer he was looking for. The Yamanaka nodded and seemed content with my answer, however someone wasn't.

"How is that possible; to conquer your memories?" Fugaku asked.

Minato rolled his eyes a bit, "It is possible because I have done it, Uchiha-san. Now next question: Are you a danger to yourself or to those around you?"

"I believe I can answer this one," Tsunade announced, "Senshi Suku is not a danger to herself or anyone else. She has been through many psychiatric evaluations by numerous doctors. They have all said that she is perfectly sane, and is no danger to anyone. Here are their reports." Tsunade said while passing a clip board around.

All the council members, besides Fugaku and the Clan Head Yamanaka, nodded in agreement.

"Now does any council members have any other questions they wish to ask Suku?" Minato asked.

There were a few murmurs then the head of the Aburame clan spoke, "How was it you were captured? Your ninja rank and record are quite impressive for your age, by the way."

"Thank you sir, but I was with Hatake Kakashi and we were supposed to take out the sleeping Kumo Nin while Itachi and the others take out the teams patrolling the bridge. We had finished killing everyone when the final team found us. Kakashi-san and I were tired and we fought but my opponent used his lightning technique to knock me out." I finished the short summary and I thought that this meeting was finally over.

"Hmm, very well thank you." Aburame answered.

"If there are no more questions… then we will take a vote: Those who think Senshi Suku is mentally stable and is able to return to work say yes."

"Yes." (Aburame)

"Yeah." (Inuzuka)

"Yes." (Hyuuga)

"No." (Yamanaka)

"No." (Uchiha)

"Yes." (Koharu)

"No." (Homura)

"It is settled then, Senshi Suku: You are free to return to active duty. I want you in my office tomorrow morning." Minato announced smiling.

My eyes lit up and I replied, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

I was now officially free.

I invited everyone over to my house to celebrate that night. Anko, Genma, Kakashi, Itachi, Rina, Tsunade, and Minato came. I had spent the whole day cleaning the whole house, and cooking most of the food. Anko was the first to arrive, so she helped me finish cooking; even though she's not the best cook. Tsunade arrived next with gifts, so did Genma and Itachi. I looked at them confused but they laughed and said I would find out later. Kakashi and Rina arrived next; the two had said they bumped into each other on their way here. Then finally Minato came; he too carrying a gift.

~3rd POV~

Anko had brought music and Tsunade brought alcohol and the two combined really got the party going.

"Itachi lets dance," Suku said while pulling Itachi onto the dance floor. The two danced to a few fast songs then Anko mischievously turned it to a long slow song. A couple people groaned and walked off the dance floor. Itachi, being the gentleman he is, placed his hands on Suku's waist and gently guided her around the dance floor. Suku moved her hands around his neck and moved closer to him.

"I have missed you." Suku whispered, while placing her head on Itachi's shoulder.

"I have missed you too." Itachi murmured into her ear, while gently nibbling on it.

Suku giggled and said, " People are staring Itachi…"

"Let them," He answered back.

Off to the side Tsunade and Minato sipped on a cup of sake.

"Aww young love," Tsunade said dreamily with stars in her eyes, "I remember how love felt back then. It was new, exciting, and fun. I just hope they don't get hurt like I did."

"Hmm, yes love can hurt sometimes." Minato agreed, "Let's hope Itachi will be the one getting hurt, because I don't think Suku could bear to lose him. She just wouldn't be able to recover from that kind of mental wound."

"She is a strong girl, I have faith in her. But she has fallen in love with him, and people do crazy things when they are in love." Tsunade replied while watching the two dance gracefully to the slow music.

"I have been thinking about the Kumo girl they brought back with them, Takahashi Rina, and she has no place to stay. So I was thinking I might have her stay with Suku. The two seem like they could get along well and maybe Suku could teach Rina a few medical techniques. What do you think?" Minato asked.

"I know Suku would probably get along fine with Rina, so that would be a fine idea. But I have wanted to take a trip down the Kiri (Mist) and see an old friend for quite some time. I would like the take Suku with me, and with your permission Rina was well. This would be a training trip of course, but I think it would be good for the two to get out of Konoha for a bit. The trip would be about six-eight months and when we return I would like Suku to be tested to go into the Anbu; and Rina to take the upcoming Chunin Exams in Suna." Tsunade finally breathed in when she finished her small proposal.

Minato had nodded a couple times during her small speech then asked when she was finished, "When are you planning to leave?"

"In about a week." Tsunade answered firmly.

"Very well, you may have your training trip with both Suku and Rina. I believe this trip will be good for both of them. When are you going to tell them?"

Tsunade thought for a moment then answered, " Tomorrow, but right now we party." Laughing both Tsunade and Minato chugged another glass of sake.

The song finally ended and the alcohol was passed around. Soon everyone dropped like flies, Tsunade was the first; she had started drinking way before anyone else. Anko was lying on the table half naked. Gai had left earlier with the excuse of having a mission in the morning. Minato had secretly slipped out the back door so no one would see he had left. So that left Rina, Kakashi, Suku, and Itachi.

"Hey guys," Rina slurred, "I heard Rin and Obito are going out."

"Wow Rin-Rin," Suku laughed, "Who did you hear that from?"

"No it's true," Kakashi said trying to hold in his laughter, "I saw them holding hands under the Sakura trees today."

"Poor Rin I feel bad for her," Rina said with fake tears in her eyes. Suku nodded her head and grabbed another glass of sake.

"Suku, I think that's enough for tonight," Itachi warned while taking the glass out of her hands.

"But Ita-chan I'm fine," Suku reassured, though when she tried to grab her glass back she almost fell off her chair. Itachi's face reddened a bit at his nickname and everyone started laughing.

"What Kaka-chan has heard Ita-chan's nickname before. What's so funny?" Suku asked. Rina covered her mouth with both hands, and tried so hard so hold in her laughter but failed as she exploded and fell on the ground laughing. Suku looked at Kakashi, Itachi, then Rina confused. Kakashi's face reddened as well but he couldn't stop from laughing either. Soon Itachi and Suku joined in and everyone was laughing. After the laughing died down everyone decided it was time to go home. But the problem was no one was capable of walking all the way home.

"I can walk," Rina protested as she was gently pushed into one of the many spare rooms.

"No you can't Rin-Rin, so sleep here." Suku then shut the door and moved on to the next room.

"Kaka-chan here you can sleep in this room," Kakashi sluggishly walked into the room and fell onto the bed.

"Ita-chan you are sleeping in my bed with me," Suku said pulling Itachi into the master bedroom. Her room was twice as big as the other rooms. There was a king size bed in the middle of the room, with a night stand on both sides of the bed. A small dresser was inside the walk-in closet, and a large chest was at the end of the bed. The bathroom was connected to her room, with double sinks, a shower, and deep bath tub.

Suku walked into her closet and changed out of her normal clothes into a long black t-shirt.

"Come on Ita-chan," Suku said while jumping onto the bed; literally. She pulled the comforter down and slipped underneath the covers. Itachi slowly moved onto the bed and laid down. His heart beat was becoming faster and faster as he lay in bed with Suku.

"Suku…?" Itachi asked.

No response.

Itachi moved so he could see Suku and saw she was already asleep. He sighed deeply and sunk into the bed, closing his eyes Itachi finally was able to sleep peacefully.

Everything was fine; everything was finally the way it was suppose to be. Kami had finally decided to be kind to those who had suffered all their lives; he finally decided that they too need happiness in their lives.


	11. Is change good or bad?

Hey sorry this chapter is so late. My computer was infected with a virus and when I got it fixed all of my documents, photos, and much more where all erased off my computer. It was a good thing I backed my stories because that was the only thing I could save. So I apologize again to those who actually read my story (Or even care about my story) I might have to stop writing the story so if you want me to continue writing please review and let me know.

Well on with the story.

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_Change always comes bearing gifts. ~Price Pritchett_

_----  
_

Dark wisps of cotton covered the sky as the sun rose. Five figures stood at the Main gate of Konohagakure No Sato. A tall blonde man, wearing a white trench coat with red flames on the bottom, a child with long raven colored hair, a women wearing a gray colored Kimono with a short green robe, blue pants, and high heels; the shortest figure of the group had long dark purple hair, a long white shirt that covered her arms and hands, blue pants that looked a bit to big, and blue ninja sandals. The last figure was medium height almost taller than the raven haired boy. She wore a navy blue kimono with a white obi that complemented her curves yet it was comfortable. Her long turquoise hair was pulled into a high pony tail with her bangs starting from the left of her forehead, resting in between her eyes and ending on the lower right side of her jaw. Ninja bandages completely covered her arms and hands; she wore navy blue spandex under her kimono with a medical pack on her right thigh and ninja gear on her left. Her foot wear was just like the others, plain blue ninja sandals.

"Tsunade send a messenger bird every so often and let me know how it goes, 'kay." Tsunade smiled and nodded to the 4th Hokage.

"I will, expect one in about five days."

Suku made her way over to Itachi.

"I'm sorry," She whispered as they embraced each other. Itachi put his finger to her lip and gently guided her into a kiss. Itachi pulled Suku's waist closer to him, his hands then traveled up and down her back. Tilting her head to deepen the kiss, Suku wrapped her arms around his neck and gently ran her fingers through his silky soft raven hair. A tongue war began but soon ended when both needed air. Suku looked over at her companions who looked ready to go. Itachi sighed and embraced Suku once again.

"Write me okay?" Itachi murmured while looking off into the distance.

The young Senshi just nodded her head, unable to speak. She slowly let go of Itachi and walked over to Rina and Tsunade. Suku looked back at Itachi but he was no longer there; a tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the ground. Her eyes shut and her head dropped, as the young ninja cried eight years worth of tears. When she was young she had made a promise to herself that she would never cry again, but Suku was naïve and did not know much about life then. She told herself that crying made you seem weak, and cowardly. Now eight years later, with all she has been through Suku realized crying does not make you seem weak. It gives you humility, and it releases all of the bottled up emotions that young Shinobi are thought to suppress or destroy. Tsunade put a hand on Suku's back and gently pushed her out of the Konoha Gates and into a new chapter of her life.

"Let it all out Suku," Tsunade softly murmured.

"Tsunade, why is this so hard? Why does it hurt so much?" Suku cried, as more tears flowed out of her eyes.

"Suku from my experience's of being in love if there one thing I've learned it's that good-byes will always hurt, pictures will never replace having been there, memories good and bad will bring tears, and words can never replace feelings. You will see Itachi again and when you do your love will be so much sweeter than it would have if you had stayed."

"How do you know?" She questioned

A small laugh escaped Tsunade's lips and she looked at the rising sun in the distance.

"Because, I'm still waiting for him to return."

Rina, who had kept quiet during their conversation raised her eyebrow and piped in, "Who Tsu-chan?"

The question just lingered in the air then floated away; as Tsunade left that question unanswered. Suku's cries soon ceased, she composed herself and was finally ready for this journey. But in the back of her mind Suku wondered why Itachi hadn't stayed longer, why had he just run off like that? Little did Suku know that he too had tears in his eyes as she left, fearing he may never see her again…

++++++++  
I don't really feel like writing what happens' everyday during their trip to Kiri (Mist). So I will just give you a quick summary of what happened.

Rina didn't really want to become a medic but she wanted to learn the basic healing techniques. She did quite well in picking up on how they work and soon mastered them. During a spar between Suku and Tsunade, Rina saw Tsunade's super strength and wanted to learn it. Rina has slow but steady progress and is not able to use it in battle yet. Suku learned high level medical techniques from Tsunade and C-ranked ninjutsu's. Not being on a team anymore with Itachi, Suku thought it would be better to learn ninjutsu and genjutsu. Also Suku learned how to extract poison and Tsunade began teaching her about how to conduct surgery on someone. The trio has been traveling for about four day's, with a walking pace. Finally the story continues.

----

A blanket of thick mist touched the ground and tall lush trees stood hauntingly over the three as they walked toward the gates of Kiri. Drops of water clung to the trees from the moisture in the air. Three figures standing by the gate, but the fog obscured Suku's vision from seeing anything else. They all waked at a leisurely pace, as the three were in no hurry.

"I will do all the talking; do not speak unless spoken to. These Shinobi are trained in reading people's actions and will be able to tell immediately if you are a threat to their village or not. Suku what rank would you say those three ninja are?" Tsunade announced quietly.

"All three are high ranked Anbu, they are all most likely captains," She replied instantaneously. Tsunade nodded and Rina looked up at Suku.

"How did you do that? Your Kekki Genki doesn't allow you to gauge someone's power level."

"It is a technique Tsunade taught me. It is very useful and has helped me in numerous missions."

Rina nodded and looked ahead but a look of confusion was on her face as she thought. 'Is her technique stronger than my Kekki Genki?'

The mist seemed to thin a bit when they reached the gate and saw the three figures: Two males and one female, each one wearing a mask and white trench coats that hide their clothing and weapons. The tallest of the group had short spiked red hair and wore a wolf mask and stood in the middle of the group. To Wolf's right was the shortest and she wore a blood red mask with a single red line under the slits to see out of, with long white hair pulled into a braid. Lastly the ninja on Wolf's left was a middle height ninja, who had short spiky greenish blue hair with a solid white mask which had a single red line under the slits for each eye.

"What business does Konoha shinobi have in Kirigakure no Sato?" Wolf asked who seemed to be the leader.

"Our business is our own, but if you must know we are visiting an old friend of mine."

The white haired Shinobi laughed quietly at Tsunade's answer, "Do you think we are stupid? We know who you are, we could sense your power level miles away. So what's the real reason Konoha sent two of their best ninja's to Kiri?"

"Kouryuu (Rain Dragon) that is enough, you may enter our village, but we will be watching you; see your friend then get out." Wolf commanded and then the three figures were gone.

Tsunade, Suku, and Rina finally entered the village of Kirigakure no Sato.

Kiri is located in the Land of Water. The official head ninja of Kirigakure is the Mizukage. It is also the place from which the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist originate. During times of war and conflict Kiri has been known to have a strong and ruthless military that could not be easily defeated. They were one of the most feared shinobi to clash with on the battlefield as they are ruthless and even barbaric at times. They specialized in the technique of the silent kill, and were barely ever defeated. But there is one organization in particular that has made even the strongest and bravest on the battlefield terrified of fighting them.

It has long been said that the seven swordsmen originated from an old legend, that tell of a time before the Great Shinobi Wars when conquer and plunder was common. The Hidden Mist Village was just sprouting when it was attacked by the ancestors of the Kaguya Clan. Villagers and shinobi alike were being slaughtered and the village was on the verge of being destroyed, until a small brave group of sword-wielding ninja banded together. They defeated them all, driving the Kaguya clan back, thus saving what was left of the village.

The Mizukage was quite impressed with their skills that he officially made them an organization of Kirigakure and named them the Seven Swordsmen of Mist. Since then, they were sworn to protect Kirigakure and the Mizukage with their lives. But as time went on, the next Mizukages became corrupt with power and ran the village with an iron fist; rather than to stick with old tradition, the Mizukage disbanded the Seven Swordsmen and created their own personal guard to protect in their steed. This corruption and abuse of power were said to have been present all the way into recent time. While the military flourished, civilians gradually became poor and unable to retain their housing. Children were left on the streets to fend for themselves, and eventually starved to death. That is until a clan of medic-nin arrived wishing to live in Kiri. They healed the land and the people themselves. They brought hope back into the hearts of many and the village was finally able to get back on its feet once again. But this angered the Mizukage; he didn't like having some new clan waltz in and get more respect than he did. So the Mizukage planned an assassination of the Clan head,Hiroki. When the plan was finally put into action, the Mizukage's personal guards were sent back to him cut up in little pieces with a note attached:

Your plan has failed. Now it's our turn to put our plain into motion. Prepare to die.

The next day the village was full of commotion. People started picking sides, and long time friends became enemies. Soon the village was split in half and a Civil War broke out. It lasted years, both sides loosing many good shinobi. Then one day the Seven Swordsmen appeared. They sided with Senshi Hiroki and they killed the Mizukage. Then for the first time in years Kiri came together and chose a new Mizukage. It was anonymous Senshi Hiroki was the next Mizukage; and the Senshi's have ruled ever sense, with the love and respect of their people and Shinobi.

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As Tsunade, Suku and Rina walked through the village they were surprised at what they saw. They expected a poor dying country, with half the population homeless and hungry begging for food. But that's not what they saw; it was a flourishing village with children playing in the street, shinobi busy at work, and young academy students training. Of course there were fights amongst people, and a few homeless; but that was inevitable in any kind of Village. Their village was an island so of course they couldn't expand horizontally so they built vertically. Kiri's buildings were much taller than Konoha and there were many more of them. There were ports for civilian fishermen, and boats to take travelers to and from Kiri. The people seemed nice but when they saw the three Konoha shinobi they glared and turned away from them.

Looking around the village Suku asked, "Where does your friend live?"

"I haven't been here in a while and the village has changed so much I'm not sure I know anymore." Tsunade laughed, "But I do know where I can find someone who would know where he is." She then walked into a restaurant.

It was crowded and full of laughter and talk of the day; and as they entered the bar the room quieted and people either glared or lowered their eyes.

"What happened out there?" A man yelled from what seemed like the kitchen. There was the sound of movement then a door swung open and out walked a chubby man with salt and pepper colored hair, wearing a dirtied white apron white shirt and black pants.

"Tsunade… Is that you?" He called squinting his eyes. She laughed and answered, "Norio it's been to long." Whisper irrupted through the restaurant and soon people began to talk again.

"Lets go somewhere more private shall we," Norio ushered them into a back room used for private parties. There was a table and chairs set up and each one took a seat.

"Now, Tsunade what brings you back to Kiri? Are you here to see him again?"

"Yes, but for different purposes this time. This is my apprentice, Senshi Suku and Takahashi Rina."

Norio's eyes fixed upon Suku immediately. He did not speak nor did he take his eyes off her. After a good five minutes he spoke slowly, "Are you current on Kiri's history Tsunade?"

"I am."

"Then why is she here?" Norio questioned pointing at Suku.

"She has a right to know, Norio. I know she is strong enough, she can do this. All I'm asking is for you to take us to him…"

There was silence for a moment as Norio thought. Suku looked from Tsunade to Norio back to Tsunade confusingly.

"What's going on?" The young Senshi asked. But her question fell on deaf ears and was never answered.

"Tsunade I will take you to him but I can't guarantee anything."

"I understand, thank you."

Norio then left and returned minutes later dressed in a plain blue kimono.

"Follow me."

Norio led the trio through the village and into the richest part of Kiri. The houses were farther apart and much bigger than the ones before. Each one had a good sized lot and was well kept. There was much vegetation in-between each house, making a sharp right onto a thin dirt path, they walked for a couple minutes then they came to a large clearing. Rows and rows of bushes, fruit trees, herbs, spices, and much more were in front of the largest house they had seen in Kiri. Suku gasped, and slowly walked around in the garden. She touched each plant and whispered their name and what their affect was. But as she came to a black bush with tiny red single black doted seeds, about the size of a pomegranates seed, Suku frowned; and for the first time she did not know what this plant was.

**"**Rosary Pea," A man said walking up to Suku, "it may sound sweet but it's actually one of the most dangerous plants. Its seeds contain a particular lectin known as abrin. Abrin, which does its damage by inactivating ribosome's, is one of the most fatal toxins that is incurable. It symptoms are vomiting, fever, nausea, drooling and G.I. dysfunction. If it were to be chewed and swallowed, death will follow shortly."

The man was tall about 5'11, with dark blue hair pulled back into a low ponytail. His face was strong with high cheek bones, a slightly pointed nose, and lips that were curved into a small smile. Startling sea blue eyes gazed down at Suku softly. Suku herself couldn't help but feel like she knew this man, as she too gazed up at him. There was a deep connection between the two yet, she had never seen this man before.

"Norio-san, nice to see you," The man took his eyes off of Suku and directed his attention to the others, "And Tsunade it is always a pleasure to see you."

Norio bowed his head in respect, as did Tsunade; Rina followed their actions, feeling he was someone important to show respect to.

Tsunade then smiled and hugged him, "Matsu-san, it's been too long."

Matsu smiled, "Yes it has, shall we go inside?" He led them inside the large house and into, what they assumed was, the living room. It was a simple house yet elegant and beautiful. The floor was covered with soft tatami, with a large glass table with a thick wooden border around it, and multiple brown black cushions on the floor. Each person sat down on a cushion. A woman entered the room; she wore a plain blue kimono and her hair in chopsticks. She set down five cups and a green tea pot, and then poured its contents into the cups.

Steam rose from the hot liquid as everyone took a cup. Suku sipped on her warm tea, as did her companions. She noticed that as she drank that Matsu eyes were watching her, staring into her eyes, into her very soul. Suku so badly wanted to look away but she couldn't pull herself from his eyes. Something about them entranced her, made her want to be close to this man, want to learn all she can from him. Then, his eyes moved and she was able to take her gaze off him. She immediately dropped her head and looked at her tea; something very unusual for Suku to go.

"Suku," Matsu spoke, "Do you know the history of your clan?" Her eyes widened and she became startled that he knew her name; Tsunade hadn't introduced her or Rina yet.

"How do you know my name?" Cautiously she brought her head up and met his eyes. Another smiled graced his lips but he said nothing.

Tsunade cleared her throat and spoke, "I completely forgot to introduce my apprentice and her companion. This is Senshi Suku, and Takahashi Rina. Suku, Rina, this is Senshi Matsu, the Mizukage of Kiri." Tsunade spoke lighthearted pretending to ignore the sudden drop in temperature in the room. Rina immediately dropped her head in respect, her long purple hair covering her face. Suku, wide eyed and mouth open, just stared at Matsu.

"It can't be," She whispered, "I thought…you all died."

Matsu frowned, a facial expression that did not fit his perfect face, "We did not die. What lies has Sana been telling you? Did she teach you nothing?"

Again Tsunade cleared her throat and spoke gently, "Matsu, Sana died in child birth. Izuko raised her then died of a heart attack when she was six." He closed his eyes, a single tear escaped and rolled down his face.

"Sana," He whispered, "I'm sorry." Matsu then opened his eyes, "Izuko was a strong medic, and he wouldn't have died from a heart attack. Please Suku, follow me." Suku looked over at Tsunade, who nodded. She then stood up and followed Matsu out of the family room. They walked past numerous doors, and made many turns until they came to the end of the hall way. Biting his thumb, Matsu did a chain of hand seals, then smeared his blood onto the door. It creaked open and the blood immediately disappeared off the door. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind Suku. Gasping Suku couldn't believe what she saw. The room was huge full of bookshelves, weapons, battle armor, a couple of desks and chairs. Matsu walked up to one of the many bookshelves, tapped his index finger on his chin, and scanned the bookshelf. Then he smiled when he found it, he pulled it out then set it down on one of the desks.

"Before I fill you in on The Senshi family history you must tell me the truth; Did you murder Senshi Izuko?" Flashbacks of when she stood before Minato, unashamed, uncaring, emotionless of what she had done rushed into Suku's mind. She had changed so much sense then, yet she still didn't regret killing him.

"I did, I slipped a vial of oleander into his alcohol that night. About an hour later he was dead." Suku spoke in a similar tone to when she confessed to the 4th Hokage; but it wasn't as cold, and she spoke with more respect in her voice. Matsu closed his eyes again, and another single tear dropped from the opposite eye. He sighed deeply and opened them again.

"You said you slipped it into his alcohol?"-Suku nodded-"He was never an alcoholic, in fact he hated drinking. Sana's death must have hit him hard. I expect you were punished for your Uncle's murder correct?"

"Uncle?!" Suku practically yelled in surprise, "I thought he was my father? I was told he was my father! Is this Sana my mother or my Aunt? Why hasn't anyone told me I had family in Kiri? Has my whole life been a lie!?" Matsu massaged his temples and motioned for Suku to sit down.

"It seems I will have to start from the beginning. Please do not interrupt, or I will stop.

Before Konoha was found, shinobi were merely individual clans working as mercenaries for various Feudal Lords. Of the countless ninja clans, the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan of the forest were the strongest at the time. After much bloodshed, the Senju clan offered a truce with the Uchiha. Despite their leader, Uchiha Madara's protests, the clan overruled him and he reluctantly agreed. Thus the Hidden Leaf Village was born. Soon, other countries began to adopt this system, leading to the birth of other villages, and peace was attained. The Senshi clan is almost as old as the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's; we were the third major clan to plant our roots in Konoha. But many years later when the Uchiha's began to revolt again, Konoha almost entered another civil war. But the Uchiah's knew they would lose, because more than half of the military was behind the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen and they gave up. My father, who had been clan head at that time, decided he and his family had enough of this unnessesary bloodshed and decided to leave Konohagakure no sato. Sana, my older sister, was pregnant and didn't want to leave. Her husband had died on a mission and she couldn't bring herself to abandon what her husband died for. So Izuko, the eldest of the three of us, stayed with her. Then we left, without them." Taking a deep breath Matsu then continued.

"Kiri was the best choice for us, as it was looking to grow and wanted highly trained Shinobi. The Mizukage welcomed us with open arms and let us dig new seeds into the ground. The village was poor, and dying and my father couldn't stand looking at the starving children on the street. So he decided to help heal the village. It took years but finally the village prospered once again. As my father gained the respect of the military and civilians the Mizukage became angry with jealousy. He ordered his personal guards to assassinate my father. Little did he know that my father also gained the respect of the Seven Swordsmen, and they had become his personal guards. When Mizukage's Guards tried to assassinate my father they were immediately caught, sliced into little pieces, and then sent back to the Mizukage. Civil war broke out then we were successful and the Mizukage died. Then we had another dilemma on our hands. We needed a new Mizukage, so everyone voted and it was anonymous that my father Senshi Hiroki was to be the next Mizukage."

Suku blinked a couple of times, stared at the floor for a moment then spoke, "So I was living with my Uncle my whole life and not my father?"-Matsu nodded- "And Sana was my mother?"-again Matsu nodded-"Then you are my Uncle right?"

"Yes, and you have more family than just me. But we can get to those later, any other questions?"

Suku thought for a moment, "What clan is my father from?"

"It's complicated but, in the simple version he was a Senshi. They weren't directly related, but it wasn't unusual to marry inside your own clan. So you are a full blooded Senshi." Suku's mind was aching from all this information and she sat down. It was mind blowing how she had thought for so many years that she was the only Senshi left. Then she finds out suddenly that she has a family. That she is a part of a family. A Noble Family.

"Are only Senshi's allowed to be Mizukage's?" Asked Suku.

"Yes, but the people like how we govern Kiri and we have become well respected. And if someone did want to become Mizukage they would have to challenge the Successor chosen by the current Mizukage, which is traditionally their child. Well I think we should be getting back.

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Not the most exciting chapter but it was full of a lot of information. Sorry if some of it sounded repetitive. But the reader knew more than the characters so I had to show that they knew it as well. PLEASE R&R!!!


	12. Living without you

**Kogan is owned by*pokefreak from Deviant art. He created him. I do not own him. I have all ready asked to use him in my story.

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**I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each others dreams, we can be together all the time. -****Hobbes (of Calvin and ...)**:

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Matsu and I walked back into the family room where Tsunade, Norio and Rina sat talking quiet amongst themselves. They immediately stopped talking and looked up at us.

Tsunade smiled, "That was a long conversation. I'm guessing everything went well?"

Just as Matsu was about to reply two shinobi entered the house and walked past the family room,

"Kogan, Mika" He called. They stopped and walked into the family room.

"These are my children, my son Kogan and my daughter Mika." Kogan looked about fifteen or sixteen. His hair was a light shade of black almost grayish black; it was cut short and spiked with a bit more hair on his left. His eyes were also a shade of light black with both ears pierced giving him a bad boy sort of look. He wore a white short sleeved zip up jacket, and skin tight black shirt with white pants. Kogan's shoes were like boots yet they were opened toed, and finally he wore black gloves that completed his outfit. AN: There is a link on my profile to what Kogan looks like!!!

He looked around the room his gaze going from each figure into the room then he finally looked at me. Kogan seemed to scrutinize me as he looked me up and down. Mika looked to be about eighteen, had long dark blue hair, like Matsu, that touched her mid back. Her blue eyes, unlike Matsu, were cold and seemed to cut into me. She wore a white battle kimono with an icy blue obi.

"What are Konoha-nin doing in Kiri?" Mika asked, it was in a respectful tone yet it dripped with a bit of anger.

"Tsunade is an old friend of mine and she just brought a few companions. Takahashi Rina, and Senshi Suku."

Mika's eyes widened and her mouth dropped.

"What!?" Kogan yelled.

Matsu sighed and waved the two shinobi to sit down.

"You both know that we originally lived in Konoha then moved to Kiri, but what you don't know is that my brother and sister stayed in Konoha. She had been pregnant and didn't want to leave, so Izuko stayed behind with her. Suku is my niece and your cousin."

The room was silent for a moment before Mika spoke harshly, "But why is she here? Why doesn't she just live with **Ojisan (Uncle) and her Okasan (Mother)?" **

Again Matsu sighed deeply, "Because Mika, they no longer are with us. They died. Besides we haven't discussed anything about her living with us yet."

Smiling Kogan stepped forward and reached out his hand to me, "Hi, I'm Kogan." A small smile appeared on my face as I shook Kogan's hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Suku."

He then linked arms with me so suddenly and practically dragged me out of the house.

"I'm going to show her the village, be back soon Otou-sama." He yelled.

Chuckling, the Mizukage sipped on his tea then spoke to Tsunade, "How long do you plan to stay?"

"For awhile, we aren't going anywhere."

Taking another sip of tea Matsu replied, "Good, would it be alright if I train Suku? I would like to see how well Izuko did with her training."

"Of course, will she be staying with you then?" She asked. He thought for a moment then nodded his head, "She will, you and Takahashi-san are welcome to stay as well."

Putting a hand on Rina's shoulder Tsunade answered politely, "We must decline, as I have much to teach Rina and we would just be a bother her. But we will come by every so often to see how things are going."

Clapping his hands, a servant appeared and took the tea and cups, the Mizukage then lead his guests to the door. They said their goodbyes and left.

~With Suku~

"So Suku," Kogan started, "What rank are you in Konoha?" I had barely heard his question, as I was staring intently at the misty ocean. He then poked my head, "Hello? Anyone home in there?" I swatted his hand away and turned my attention back to the ocean. "Jounin." I replied quietly, captivated by the beauty and strength of the crystal blue waves.

"Me too," Kogan said calming down, his voice softening as he to looked at the waves "What do you think of the village? I mean it's no Konoha, all beautiful all year around."

I inhaled longer than I normally do, breathing in the salty air from the ocean. "I love it." But my words seemed to drift off with the wind as Kogan did not reply.

We sat by the ocean for what seemed like hours talking about random things. We had so much in common yet enough differences that it balanced out. The sun began to fall below the horizon with an orange-yellow glow.

Standing up and stretching, Kogan blinked then spoke softly, "Well we better get home," His voice grew louder, "Because I'm getting pretty hungry!" He patted his empty stomach, and with stars in his eyes he imagined all the wonderful food he could be eating. I looked up at him with a small smile on my face. He held out his hand and I took it as he helped me up.

"Are you staying with us?" Kogan asked as they started walking.

"I'm not sure, but I hope I can. I would really like to meet my family. It's funny though, I never knew I had a family and now I suddenly do. So do you wish to become Mizukage?"

Kogan looked off into the distance and didn't answer my question.

"Sorry if that's too much of a personal question." I apologized feeling a bit guilty. He waved the apology off, and spoke slowly as if he were collecting his thoughts and forming them into words.

"It's a tradition that I would become the Mizukage if Mika died or refused the title. But I don't want to, what I want is to travel the world; Living in each village for at least a year, making friends as I go, and maybe settle down somewhere. Don't get me wrong I love Kiri, I just need a change of scenery for a while. But I doubt I will have to take the title. Mika wants to Mizukage, I don't blame her. Sense she is the first born she was trained from day one to be the next Mizukage." Kogan's words trailed off and we were almost to the Senshi Estate.

"She will be the first female Mizukage," He whispered to no one particular. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to have heard it so I said nothing of it. The rest of the walk was in silence.

When we arrived back home, Matsu informed me that I would be staying and training with him and his family. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. To bad it didn't last.

~Konoha-Uchiha Estate~

-Itachi's Dream-

I stood at the main gates watching Suku leave. The sun just beginning to rise, kami how gorgeous she looked with the sun shinning down on her. Her turquoise hair pulled back into a high ponytail, her eyes brimming with tears. She turned her back on me and I watched her walk away. Tears threatened my eyes and I turned away from her retreating form, the pain in my chest to great to contain. My vision blurred and the scenery changed. I stood in Kiri, it's thick mist clinging to the ground. I walked through the village until I found Suku.

But what I found made me feel disgusted, made my heart feel like it was grabbed right out of my chest.

Suku walking down the street holding some other guys hand, his arm around her waist as they laughed together. They stopped and sat down by a near bench, Suku practically straddling him, as they made out. Hearing her giggles and moans of pleasure sickened me to no end, falling to one knee I gripped my chest, as I tried to regain my composure. I stood slowly my eyes and heart filled with anger and sadness. My vision blurred again and this time the scene was in, what I assumed was the Kiri forest. As I looked around I saw blood. It was splattered onto the bushes and huge puddles of blood were forming around two bodies. One laid face down the other face up. The clouds that had been covering the moon cleared, giving me enough light to make out their features. Suku laid face up, her body sprawled on the ground, and her long hair covering her eyes. I stumbled over to her and dropped down next to her.

Tears streamed down my face as I brushed Suku's hair away from her eyes. I stood slowly and brought my hand to my face to wipe away my tears when I saw the red sticky liquid on my hands. I looked down and saw I was covered in blood yet I had no wounds. I clutched a kunai in my other hand, and my eyes widened with dread. I had killed Suku. I had killed the only person to have loved me for me. I screamed in agony and fell to the floor. The guilt seemed to crush me, suffocating me. I looked at the kunai in my hand and with out another thought I plunged it into my heart. Releasing all my pain.

-End of dream-

Itachi opened his eyes slowly. Sweat clung to his body, rolling down onto his bare chest. He sat up slowly and tried to let his mind process the dream. Running his fingers through his damp hair, Itachi walked over to the window and opened it. The cool night air was refreshing, as he looked off into the distance.

"Suku," He whispered, "Are you ever coming back? Or have you forgotten me?"

~Kiri-Senshi Estate~

-Early the next morning-

The sun slowly rose above the horizon as I watched it. I was tired, as I didn't sleep well last night. I had dreamed of only Itachi last night, weather it was good or bad. The dreams turned out the same in the end. I kill Itachi in cold blooded murder. Some were grotesque, and sickening to the bone. Others were emotional filled with nothing but sadness and guilt. I longed for Itachi, his warm touch, soft kisses, and his very presence. I needed to be close to him. I looked off into the distance and took my thoughts in a different direction.

How pathetic was I, only gone for about a week and I'm already breaking down without him. I smiled sadly as I thought of him again. I knew I needed to learn how to stand on my own, and be able to be without him for at least a month. But right now I needed to talk to him. I needed Rina's help.

Searching for her chakra signature, I quickly located it and sprinted off in that direction. Once I reached their hotel room I stealthy made my way into their room. Rina slept on a bed are the far left corner of the room, next to the window. Careful to not wake up Tsunade, I whispered her name. Her eyes twitched but they did not open. "Rina….Rina." I whispered a bit louder this time. Rina's eyes opened and gasped when she saw me.

"I need your help."

Ten minutes later my letter was written.

"Sorry Suku but Rakurai can't go deliver the letter. But I have another falcon that will deliver the letter. She is quite young but she is one of my fastest falcons. Her name is Shakaku." Lifting her white sleeve up Rina smeared blood onto one of her tattoo's. A poof of smoke appeared and a small falcon, half the size as Rakurai, flew onto Rina's shoulder. She was blood red with golden tipped feathers.

"Shakaku, this is Suku." Rina spoke, "You will be with her as a permanent summon like Rakurai, is to me. Please treat her with the same respect you treat me with. Shikai-sama has already agreed and is aware of this."

Shakaku flew onto Suku's shoulder.

"Suku-sama," Shakaku said bowing her head.

"Shakaku….Angel of fire… what a beautiful and fitting name you have," Suku smiled as she stroked the bird.

"What reason do you have for summoning me?" Shakaku spoke surprisingly to Suku instead of Rina, who had actually summoned her.

"I need you to deliver private but extremely important letters to a boy named Uchiha Itachi and only him." Rina then handed Suku a little bird backpack to put on Shakaku.

Strapping it on snugly yet no too tight and putting the letter into the little backpack, Suku then sent Shakaku on her way to Konoha.

~Konoha-Uchiha Estate~

-8:00 pm the same day-

Itachi sat down at his favorite ramen stand and ordered a bowel of Miso Ramen and a glass of water. As he ate his food a bird circled around the stand a few times, kawed (AN:I don't know if that's the sound a bird makes), then flew down and landed on his shoulder. Taken by surprise Itachi's eyes widened a bit and he almost choked on his water.

"Itachi-sama? Are you Itachi-sama?" The bird whispered in his ear. Itachi nodded his head.

"Good, I have a letter from Suku-sama. Please can we go somewhere private?" Again Itachi's eyes widened, he quickly put money on the table and left the ramen shop.

They ended up in a secluded clearing in Konoha's forest.

"Itachi-sama, I am the only falcon you gives letter to as I answer only to Suku-sama. She made it clear how important her letters are to you, please give her the same respect back. Now if you would please open my bag the letter is in there." Nodding again, Itachi opened the small back pack and indeed find a letter. He quickly opened it and read it.

(This letter is going to sound cheesy and maybe a little stupid. Sorry about that, but I couldn't think of any other way to write a love letter.)

_Itachi,_

_I dreamt of you and only you last night. But they were not dreams of sweet pleasure… They frighten me, and I cannot bear to be away from you. But I must learn to be independent again. I cannot rely on you forever. I have so much to tell you: I have a family. The man who I killed all those years ago was not my father but my Uncle. He had stayed with my mother in Konoha. My father had died on a mission. My other uncle, Matsu, he is the Mizukage, and he has two children Mika, and Kogan. Kogan is sweet and showed me around the village and we have much in common. I start my training soon. _

_How are you? Please write back as soon as you can. Shakaku will stay with you still you write the letter and give it to her. Be nice and respectful to her, as she is our only way of communicating. _

_Yours always,_

_Suku_

~ Kiri-Suku's POV~

Shakaku didn't return that night, or the next.

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Sorry this chapter is short. Please Review.


	13. Coming home

**Thank you Sari for reviewing!!! You have no idea how much that meant to me. I will definitely keep writing. There will probably be a sequel to Death's Hand. I already have it all planned out. XD I just have to finish this one. But it will most likely end in a few chapters. (That is if I can speed things up.) Well on with the story.**

**I don't own Naruto or any of their original characters. HOWEVER I do own the characters I make up. (Suku, Mika, Matsu ect.)**

**THIS CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN A LIME AT THE END.

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_I need him like I need the air to breathe.- Tulip97,_

Training with Matsu and his family was very different from any other training I had received. I trained with Matsu at sun rise till about ten o' clock in the morning. I would then spar with Kogan till lunch time. Training with Matsu was completely intellectual. He and I would meditate for almost a half an hour then he would put me in situations that could happen on missions. He then would show me the outcome of my decision; whether I had made the right or wrong choice. Matsu helped me think every decision over carefully, to see all the possible outcomes.

"You are the leader. Your decisions control the result of the mission or of any given situation. Think over everything carefully; make sure you see every angle."

What he said made sense to me and then it hit me. That's why Kakashi and Itachi had never failed a mission; because they analyzed a situation, and then made their decisions based off of every possible outcome. Matsu then went on about how to put your thoughts into actions.

"Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put your thoughts into action is one of the hardest things to do. So you must learn how to balance them out; thinking about the situation yet putting your thoughts into action. It will do no good to just thinking about doing something then not do it and have your squad get killed." I saw the knowledge in everything he said. I soaked it up like a sponge, not wanting to forget this extremely useful information. Everyday I learned something new with Matsu.

Sparring with Kogan was always fun. We would encourage, and complement the other when one would get a good hit in. Kogan's style of fighting was similar to mine. He too uses his speed as an advantage in a fight. But he refused to use any other weapon besides a kunai, why I did not know. Being a medic I thought the Senbon would be his weapon for sure, but oh no he despised them. He also used his Katsushitai (Split Body) way more than me. The way he fought with it made him seem like an expert. Kogan was extremely flexible, and was able to easily drain my chakra. The Chakra Scalpel was my favorite technique to use. It gave immediate, and painful, damage to my opponent. When sparring however, I never aimed it at any vital organs if I did I would surly kill him.

-A Week Later-

Four Matsu's stood in a clearing staring at me and my two Kage Bushins. The Matsu's stood in a line across the clearing, evenly spread apart. I reached into my pocket and threw two smoke bombs. Quickly, I dashed into the forest, and mentally commanded my clones to take out the Matsu clones. My clones dashed threw the smoke; each one found a Matsu clone and then touched their glowing blue hand to their hearts. I heard the normal popping noise of a clone disbursing but I wasn't sure whose clone it was. As the smoke cleared I saw that all four Matsu's clones standing. Frowning I thought of another way to surprise them. I quickly flew threw hands seals and pressed my palm to the ground. Slowly my clones and I disappeared, sinking into the earth.

The four Matsu clones stood in the clearing, still in their line formation, waiting for my next move. I concentrated on suppressing my chakra, and making myself completely undetectable. Once that was done, I then looked for the real Matsu, who was either one of the four clones or wasn't in the clearing at all yet still giving orders to his clones. He was also suppressing his chakra but he had too much chakra to suppress it completely; so I easily found him among the clones. He stood in the middle, slightly farther back than the others with his hands across his chest. Smirking, I rose out of the ground behind him with two kunai in my left hand and a fist full of Senbon in my right.

"Got you." I whispered as I threw a Senbon at each of the clones leaving me with only one left. Matsu spun around ready to dash into the forest, but I threw my last Senbon into his thigh. He fell to the ground and within seconds he 'poofed' into a familiar white cloud of smoke. Shocked that it wasn't the real Matsu I began to look around for him. Suddenly I felt the cold metal of a Kunai pressed to my throat.

"Not quite." Matsu whispered in my ear.

"So you were hiding in the forest all along." I answered a hint of irritation in my voice. Matsu chuckled but did not answer. Slightly lifting my right arm, I then slammed it into Matsu's rib cage; only for him to catch it in the palm of his hand, which then glowed with yellow chakra. My eyes widened and I knew I couldn't pull away from him. Fearful of having a chuck of flesh ripped out again, I stood still.

I thought for a moment not sure what to do then I remembered I still had two kunai's. But they couldn't be of any use to me now.

"Fine, fine you win…again." I muttered, having run out of options. Matsu's split body chakra dissipated and he released my elbow. I pocketed my two kunai's then went to collect my Senbon off the ground.

"Why didn't you check the forest to see if I was hiding in there?" Matsu asked as he watched her.

"I was going to, but then I felt how much more chakra one clone had more than the other and thought it was the real you." I answered feeling a bit ashamed I had been so easily fooled.

"Maybe so, but you still should have checked the forest anyways. What if there had been hidden enemies in there and you didn't think it was necessary to check? They would have ambushed you, and killed you easily." Matsu pressed on, "We have talked about this. Don't get lazy or arrogant."

I dropped my head a bit feeling extremely ashamed that I had progressed this last week then jumped back to where I was in the beginning. But I wasn't sure why he pressed on about the topic. Maybe something happened when he was younger, I wasn't sure. But it seemed important, so I decided to try harder and not slack off anymore.

"I'm sorry Sensei," I said with deep respect, "This will no longer happen. I will put forth all my effort into my training from now on."

Matsu then smiled, "Good, that's it for today." We both then headed for the Estate. Just as we were parting ways Matsu called out, "Oh Suku I almost forgot. My wife will be teaching you this afternoon around three o' clock in the gardens. Don't be late!" I nodded then headed toward the Estate.

Not bothering to change out of my training clothes, which consisted of: a white tank top, black knee length pants, fingerless gloves, and standard dark blue sandals; I went straight to the private Senshi training grounds, where Kogan waited for our daily spar.

-A week later-

I sat on the roof of the Senshi Estate gazing up at the stars. They were much brighter here than in Konoha. Konoha…. Sighing I pulled Itachi's letter out of my pocket.

_Suku,_

_I have had the same dreams of you ever night. They too scare me. I wish I could see you. _

_But, I'm glad to finally hear from you. I miss you. Konoha isn't the same with out you. I'm happy that you finally have a family. Maybe they could help train you more than that 'uncle' Izuko did. _

_My mom is expecting a child. A boy. I'm going to be a big brother. It's exciting but I'm worried that he won't like me. My father was unhappy that he would have another son. It seems that he had wished for a girl. I had heard him talking with the Council the other night; he had said that his new son wouldn't be able to carry out the family name. That he couldn't match my strength. It made me sick how he practically disowned his second son before he was even born. The council had agreed, yet when my father left they had been whispering angrily amongst themselves; almost planning something. I'm nervous of what will become of my Clan. They seem to be heading down the wrong path. _

_I was visited by someone I thought of to be dead. I cannot write his name down. But when you return I will introduce him to you. He is amazingly strong…maybe stronger than the Yondaime. I am studying under him and I can already feel how much stronger he has made me. _

_When will you return?_

_Itachi_

_-_

Sighing again I put the letter back into my pocket and returned by gaze back to the starry sky.

Thinking back on my week, I couldn't help but think about Kohana, Matsu's wife. I had sort of mixed feelings about her. She was a strict teacher, and her training was like a boot camp. Kohana made Tsunade's training look like a walk in the park, as she knew high ranked medical Jutsu's and wasn't afraid to use them. However, she hated fighting with every fiber of her being. Kohana was an extremely caring person, which was why almost half her techniques were not for the battle field. Granted, she knew how to fight and had some killer attacks yet she hardily ever used them. Her area expertise was with plants. I could point at a plant and she would know the name, if it was poisonous, and if it could cure something.

The Senshi garden was her personal garden that she looked over everyday. Many clan members used the garden, but only with her permission. The garden held many rare plants that could only be found in certain places in Kiri. She spent an hour of our training teaching me about these plants, and their uses. The other two hours were spent on learning High ranked Medical Jutsu's.

-Flashback- 3rd POV

"Why?" Suku asked suddenly. Her head was titled to the side, confused.

"Why what?" Kohana answered just as confused.

"Why do we spend so much time learning about healing? Healing herbs, healing techniques…we are ninja…no matter how hard we try to heal things they just end up collapsing and die." Suku looked off at the falling sun in the distance. Kohana walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Suku…a great man once told me, 'Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.' I didn't understand what he meant until a friend of mine lost their mother; she had died on a mission that my father had been the leader of and wasn't able to save her. She had refused to speak to me, and became angry with my family. I then became a bit angry at her until my father repeated what my grandfather had told me. I went and talked to her and let her know I was sincerely sorry for her loss; and that if she needed to talk I was there for her. After a couple of days she began talking to be again."

As Kohana finished her story there was a slight smile on her face. "What I'm trying to tell you is. Yes, there is evil and destruction in this world. But with compassion and love you can heal those wounds and help those in need of it. Only then can you truly find peace within yourself." (AN: No it's not a quote I found online. I wrote it myself)

-End of Flashback- 3rd POV

Suku picked herself up off the roof and jumped back into her room silently, then slipped into her bed. She laid awake for awhile dreading the dreams that would surely haunt her tonight.

-Dream-

Suku lay with Itachi in a large clearing looking at the stars. They formed pictures out of the stars and enjoyed each others company. A slight breeze shifted the scene to a wild and crumbling Konoha. Buildings were smashed, small fires lingered in the streets, and an eerie silence filled the air that even the creatures of the forest did not dare disturb. As she looked around she saw Itachi. Quickly rushing over to him, she tried to heal his large gash to the chest. His face was pale, and cold. He could barely keep his eyes open, and as he saw Suku approach his lips parted and whispered softly, "I love you…"

The words trailed off, and so did his soul. Tears streamed down her face as she cried over his dead body. A rumbling sound in the distance brought her attention back to the battle ground. A gigantic toad appeared with the Fourth Hokage on its back.

But moments later, she watched him too fall from the toads back. The only man to have showed her any compassion and practically raise her was now dead. The man she saw as a father, a man she could trust and talk to about anything….gone.

Her vision blurred with her tears, and she found herself in a room that she noticed was her room. It was cold, yet the window shut, it was dark yet it was light outside. No light or warmth entered the room. Suku walked over to her bed and sat down. A cloud of dust rose into the air from the sudden disturbance of the bed. Suku then looked closer around her room and saw that all her furniture had a thick layer of dust clinging to it. As her gaze fell upon her nightstand she saw the pictures of Itachi and Minato, each one had a large crack in the glass right down the middle splitting the picture in half. The bond Suku had with each one, was severed by cruel fate that despised her so much.

-End of dream- 3rd POV

Immediately, Suku sat up; eyes wide with terror as tears formed and threatened to fall.

"No matter what I do," Suku whispered, "Everyone dies in the end. Everyone I care about dies…"

-Flashback-Konoha 8 years ago-

A small seven-year old sat in the Hokage tower waiting for Minato; they were supposed to go to the Ramen stand for dinner. Patiently, she read her book not wanting to make any unnecessary noise. Ten minutes later Minato emerged from his office. He scratched the back of his head nervously as he approached Suku.

"Hey Suku, can you keep a secret?" He asked quietly. She nodded her head and put away her book.

"Okay good, follow me." Minato then started walking out of the Tower, Suku following close behind him.

They walked for a good fifteen minutes before they came to a small section of the forest that was inside Konoha. Silently, the Yondaime placed his finger to his lips. Again Suku nodded and followed him into the forest. The two winded their way through the forest till they came to a small cottage next to a crystal-clear river. A tall woman with long orange hair and a stunningly beautiful face with deep blue eyes, smiled warmly as she saw the two approaching. Minato and the women embraced each other for a minute then pulled away.

"And who is this?" She asked dropping to her knees so she was at eye level with Suku.

Smiling Minato announced, "Kushina, this is Senshi Suku."

"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Kushina."

Suku bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you."

"Suku, this is my girlfriend Kushina. However you can't tell anyone, this will be our little secret okay?"

"I won't tell anyone." She replied almost emotionless. Kushina frowned slightly but didn't say anything. Rising to her feet, Kushina then started walking into the house.

"Well, how about some dinner?"

Minato's eyes lit up and he quickly followed Kushina. Suku followed a bit slower, looking around the clearing she saw there was a vegetable garden off to the side, and a few fruit trees close to the river.

The cottage was small with only two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, one bathroom and an extra room where all their ninja supplies were kept. Kushina made Miso soup with chicken and vegetables. The three had many ninja related discussions during dinner, and soon it was time to leave. Minato walked Suku home then left for to go to his own home.

-End of Flashback-

Suku smiled remembering that night, that was however not the last time she saw Kushina. After she met Kushina, Suku then began to eat dinner with her and Minato, almost every other night. She loved going to their house, it was always warm and inviting not like her house that was dark and empty.

Two month later-

Tsunade had received a messenger bird that they were needed back in Konoha. So the training trip had been cut a month short. Suku was sad but yet excited to be home. And so the next day the trio left. Destination: Konoha.

-__- Three days later -__-

The three arrived swiftly, running the almost the whole way to Konoha. There was no dire need to be there, yet each one was anxious to be home. When they reached the gates, there were people waiting for them there. Suku's appearance had changed; her hair had grown dramatically and was about three inches longer. She wore a long white trench coat like her kinsmen, with a dark blue shirt underneath. Suku still wore her knee length black pants, and black shoes.

Minato was there, just as he had been there to see them off. Anko, had jumped in excitement when she saw them approaching. Genma was there also lazily leaning against the gate. As Suku, Rina and Tsunade made it to the gate, they were embraced by many people. And surprisingly Kakashi and Rina hugged when reunited. Suku raised an eye brow and smirked toward Tsunade who smiled in return. Nothing would ever stop Tsunade from playing match maker. Quickly and quietly, Suku slipped away from the welcoming committee and went in search of Itachi.

Suku looked everywhere that he might be, his favorite training ground, their secret spot in the woods, the tea shop, and even looked at their old training ground but he wasn't anywhere. There was one last place to look: The Uchiha Compound. She had been putting off this place but it was inevitable, Suku knew she had look here. But she didn't want to be around his family. So instead of knocking on the door, she went to his bedroom window and stealthily entered the room. The room was empty but the futon looked like it had just been sat on and when she pressed her hand to it, the mattress was still warm. Smiling, she sat down and waited for him to return. And sure enough, a few minutes later Itachi walked in his room shutting the door behind him. When he turned around he immediately got into a defense position and glared at her.

"Who are you?" Itachi whispered through clenched teeth.

"Itachi, what are you talking about it's me Suku." Suku said confusingly.

"Pff, do you think I'm stupid. She isn't coming home for another month. Now who are you?!" Itachi's voice rose and Suku had never seen him this angry before. His fully matured sharingan glared at her with new intensity and Suku didn't like it. Before she left, Itachi didn't have a fully matured sharingan, something had changed about him something extreme.

"Itachi this is ridicules!" She yelled back, "Don't you recognize my chakra signature?!" But her words did not reach him, Itachi Shunshined (Body Flicker) in front of her and punched her in the face. Seeing his oncoming attack, Suku brought her arms in an X blocking his attack. She jumped out of the window and fled to the woods, where she could properly fight him. Knowing Itachi Suku knew, he wouldn't let her go with out a fight. So once she reached the clearing Suku fell into a defense stance, and within seconds Itachi appeared in the clearing attacking. He blew a giant fire ball at her, which she jumped over easily. However when her feet touched the ground Itachi was upon her. His punches were again easily dodged, but he suddenly kicked her making Suku fly into a near by tree. Spitting out some blood, Suku wiped her mouth and walked toward Itachi.

Dropping into her pressure point stance, Suku realized she was going to have to fight him seriously without hurting him….that bad.

She disappeared and reappeared behind and brought her fingers to his spine but he spun around and griped her wrist. Suku tried to yank away but that only tightened his grip, snapping her wrist. She bit her lip in pain and brought her other fist to his stomach. It connected, and he slid back a few fit. As he regained the air that he had lost, Itachi took out a kunai and ran at Suku. She ducked, leaped, and dodged his attacks to cut her down. But has she jumped back from an attempt to stab her stomach, her back touched a tree. Itachi took this opportunity, and elbowed her in the stomach. Suku's eyes widened as he grabbed her neck, and began squeezing the life out of her.

"Itachi….stop…." She choked, the scene brought back a few memories from when she was with Anko in the forest of Death and she had beaten the crap out of Itachi.

He scoffed, and tightened his grip. Suku was slowly loosing air and was running out of time. So she decided to use her last resort technique. Yellow chakra formed around her hand and reached to touch Itachi's arm. Her vision blurred and Suku's hand fell to her side, the yellow chakra dissipating.

"Ita-chan…." Suku choked, her time had run out she had no more air left to give.

Itachi's eyes widened, and immediately let go. Only one person called him that and knew of that name. He looked at his hands in shock then at Suku's body sprawled on the ground. Tears fell from his eyes, as bits and pieces of his nightmares came true. He ran to Suku and saw she wasn't breathing. He racked his brain of any medical knowledge Suku had made him learn. CPR. That's it! Itachi opened her mouth blew air into her body, and then pushed on her heart five times. He then blew more into her body, and pushed on her heart five times again. He repeated this many times and his tears obscured his vision and kept him from continuing. He fell onto her screaming out in anger and distress. Itachi then suddenly heard Suku's heart beat, and then her chest rose then slowly fell. Her heart beat fastened to her normal level. _Bump bump, bump bump._

Her eyes opened, and she slowly sat up. Itachi gasped, and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry Suku, I'm so sorry." He whispered into her neck. Suku returned the hug and gripped him tightly. She then moved Itachi's head so it was in front of hers.

"Don't ever do that again." She warned then connected her lips with his.

*****LIME ALERT*******

He closed his eyes and pushed her back down onto the ground to deepen the kiss. Suku wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted his shirt off. He moved his hands underneath her shirt and began to slowly unwrap her bandages. They parted lips for a breath then they couldn't resist the urge in the pit of their stomachs and they connected their lips once again. Itachi moved his lips down her neck and began to suckle and bit on the soft skin.

Suku uttered a soft moan that was unfamiliar to her. Itachi had finished unwrapping her ninja bandages and he moved his hands to her B cup breast. Slowly he lifted Suku's shirt over her head. He then moved his head and began to suckle her breast and massage the other. She moaned in pleasure again, but this time she raked her nails down his back that earned a moan from him. Smiling, Suku grabbed his head and crushed her lips into his. She pushed her tongue that demanded entrance, against his lips and he opened his mouth granting her entrance. They began a tongue war for a few moments before Itachi broke the kiss. Suku flipped Itachi over so she was on top and he was on bottom.

Her hands roamed up and down his body, and Itachi moaned as she bit his earlobe. He moved his hands to her pants, but Suku's hands stopped him.

"Not yet," She whispered, tears in her eyes. Itachi smiled and kissed her lips.

"Its okay, Su-hime," He whispered into her ears nibbling it. Suku giggled and kissed Itachi again.

"Thank you."

*****END LIME******

The two put their clothes back on and left the clearing to Suku's house for dinner. They had been too oblivious to notice, a figure leaving the clearing that ran back to the Uchiha Compound.

_-_-_-_-_

I hope no one was offended or upset by the lime. Please let me know if you were.


	14. Death at sunset and Dawn of a new day

Thank you Phoenix. Flame 0X059 for your review it is much appreciated. ^_^

* * *

The shadowed figure entered the Uchiha Compound and silently walked down the hall, then suddenly stopped, lifted a board up revealing stairs that led under the house. The figure walked down the steps and put the board back into place. He walked down a dark corridor then came to a large room only lit with candles. Five elderly men sat in a circle with Fugaku in the center.

"Come forward." He commanded, his voice deep with of power. The shadowed figure was then illuminated by the candles. Shisui stood before the Council and Fugaku ready to tell them what he had learned. He stepped into the center of the circle and dropped to his knees bowing before them.

"What information do you bring us?" One of the elders asked, his face full of wrinkles and creases.

"I have news of Itachi and that Senshi Suku girl. Their relationship has grown; I saw them in the forest. They were very close to err umm…losing their virginity to each other. But they stopped and left to her house. I however do not know what they are doing there." Shisui summed up with a light blush on his face.

"This is most disturbing and will interfere with our plans for Itachi. He is the key to all our plans. I don't want that girl to _corrupt_ him in anyway. Keep a close eye on them, especially that _Senshi_. I want you to learn her weakness. A pathetic medic like her has to have many, find them." Fugaku growled.

Still bowing Shisui nodded his head, "Yes, Fugaku-sama." He then stood up and left the room.

-Suku's house-

Suku hummed to herself in the kitchen as she added spices to her Edaname Soup. She flipped over the vegetable tempura and set the table for her and Itachi. When she returned to the soup, hands wrapped around her waist and whispered in her ear.

"My, aren't we happy today." Itachi said nibbling on her ear. Suku turned around, inches from his face.

"Yes, I am." She said happily kissing him. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Itachi bit her lower lip Suku moaned slightly but then pulled away when the soup began to boil over.

"Aw, I hope it didn't burn." Suku blew on the soup and turned the stove down, which calmed the water.

Soon the food was done, and Suku placed the food on the table and the two began eating.

"Itachi I was thinking about what happened in the clearing and I can't help but feel that we were being watched by someone yet I couldn't detect them." The young Senshi set down her chop sticks and looked seriously at Itachi.

Itachi stopped eating his vegetable tempura and he too set down his chop sticks.

"I had that feeling too. But I had pushed it away into the back of my mind. I think that if we are going to do anything, it shouldn't be outside. There are many people that don't want us together."

Frowning, Suku muttered, "Like your family…"

Itachi scratched the back of his head, "Exactly like my family. They have the man power and determination to break us apart if you get in their way." Suku clenched her jaw and bawled up her fists.

"Ugh, your family is disgusting. All of them, they need to go rot in hell. Why can't they just let us be happy?" She slammed a fist on the table and it creaked in protest.

"Suku, calm down, let's not talk about my family okay. Do you remember the man I was talking about in my letter?" Suku relaxed her jaw and fists and nodded her head.

"I want you to meet him tonight."

-That night 11:00-

Itachi led Suku deep into the forest outside of Konoha. They jumped through trees at a rapid pace and night air was thick from the summer heat. They reached a large waterfall, and Itachi ran through a long chain of hand seals. Once he was done, he pressed his hand up to the waterfall and walked right through it, pulling Suku behind him. They stood in a small hallway and with glowing candles as their light the two walked down the dimly lit corridor with Itachi leading the way. Once they reached the end, the corridor let to a large cavern where a man stood by a fire waiting for them. He obviously lived here, there was a tent set up next to the fire, a tea kettle resting above the fire, and three mats on the dirt floor in front of the fire.

Itachi walked over to the fire and sat down on one of the mats. Suku followed and sat down on the mat next to Itachi. They waited quietly till a man came out of the tent. He sat on the mat on the other side of the two. The flames of the fire licked the wood, and seemed to burn brighter and hotter than before now that this man arrived. He looked to be in his late twenties, and had long dark spiky raven hair. His blood red armor glistened from the fire, and Suku noticed it was actual blood that gave his armor its' color.

"Suku, this is Uchiha Madara." Itachi stated calmly. Madara raised his head and opened his spinning sharingan eyes.

"Im-Impossible," Suku gasped her eyes wide with amazement.

"It's not impossible," Madara spoke deeply his voice rough and cold, "There are many things that Konoha has yet to learn and discover; one of them being immortality, which I have achieved. Now, Itachi-kun tell me is this a Senshi?"

Itachi stiffened a bit, but replied, "Yes, she is the last one in Konoha." The man smiled sinisterly and closed his eyes whispering to himself.

"Good, good, this is very good." Suku raised an eye brow and resisted the urge to speak. She knew of this man and his powers, to get him anger would be her undoing.

"Itachi what have you told her of my plans?" Madara asked, still with his eyes shut.

"Nothing." He replied, his cold hand found Suku's and squeezed it; whether it was out of nervousness or excitement she did not know but this plan Madara spoke of made her uneasy and wary of it.

"Dear little Senshi, do you have extensive medical knowledge like the Mizukage's wife Kohana?" Madara purred, letting the names drop of his tongue and hit Suku like kunai's.

Again, Suku gasped extremely shocked on how he knew Kohana.

"Oh, did they not tell you? I was the Mizukage that welcomed them into Kiri, gave them a place to stay and let them join our Shinobi ranks. I'll only ask once more, do you have extensive medical knowledge?" His voice held a hint of irritation that snapped Suku out of her shock.

"Yes sir, I was trained by both Kohana and Tsunade of the Legendary Three Sannin."

Madara's smile grew to new heights, as it widened and held an evil aura to it.

"Itachi-kun, thank you for bringing this little jewel to me; she will be extremely useful to completing our plans."

"What are your plans, Madara-sama?" Suku spoke and for the first time Madara's gaze, that had been on Itachi, fixed upon Suku. The Senshi was use to the glare of the Sharingan from Itachi's family, but Madara did not glare at her. It was a mix of curiosity, and excitement that danced in his eyes.

"That my dear, will soon be revealed in the next year; but right now I need you to do something for me. Come over and heal my eyes." He demanded with the same rough cold voice as before. Suku nodded, and made her way over to Madara. She knelt down on her knees and her hand was engulfed in a familiar green healing charka.

Suku pressed her hand to his eyes and frowned, "You are nearly blind; this will take some time to heal. Itachi go bring me two Manryo berries. They are small red berries, in a large bush. I saw them on our way here, they are to the left of the cave." Itachi nodded and left the cave quickly to retrieve the berries.

'What did he do for his eyesight to become this damaged?' Suku thought, becoming a bit concerned.

She did not know why but the medic training kicked in and all she wanted to do right now was heal his eyes. Even though she knew this man was evil and this would only help him do horrible things, she trusted this man because Itachi did. And it was extremely are to earn Itachi's trust. Soon Itachi returned with the berries and Suku grabbed a kunai from her pouch and swiftly cut the small berries in half.

"This is going to hurt. The berries juice is extremely healing and will temporally give you your sight back but there is an elixir that can permanently heal your eyes." Suku announced to Madara, who just nodded.

"Tilt your head back and do not blink." She commanded. Madara did as he was told, and tilted his head back. Suku gently opened his eye and held it as if you were putting eye drops into your eyes. She squeezed the berry and it juice dropped into his eye. He did not complain or move. She then did the same to his other eye.

"It is getting late, we should be going." Itachi spoke, when it was completely finished.

Suku nodded and they both left the cave, heading back to Konoha.

Has soon as the two entered Konoha, they immediately felt that they were being followed. As they jumped on the roofs of the buildings, they each exchanged glance but each one was to tired to fight. So they split paths each one going home.

-Early morning the next day-

"Suku, are you there? Waake up!" Came a voice outside, pounding on her front door.

She grumbled and got out of bed. Once she reached the door she slammed it open, "WHAT!?" She yelled. However when she looked to see who it was her eyes widened; Minato stood in her door way, blinking in surprise with his fist in the air ready to bang on the door again.

"Sorry Hokage-sama, I didn't get much sleep last night. What can I help you with?" Suku replied more respectfully then normal.

"I need your help with Kushina, well she needs your held, but we really need you." He grabbed the stunned Kunoichi and teleported to the cottage.

Suku blinked in surprise and wobbled over to the cottage door. "How….what just happened….what?" She mumbled pointing to the cottage then pointing toward herself.

"No time to explain," Minato urged, pushing Suku into the cottage.

Kushina laid on the couch, her stomach extremely bigger than when she last saw Kushina, which was before she left for Kiri, so about six or seven months ago. Her hair had grown so it now touched her butt. Beads of sweat dropped from her forehead and rolled down her face.

"How long has she been pregnant?" Suku demanded rushing over to her side.

Minato began to count on his fingers slowly, "Umm I think seven or eight months." Suku's eyes bulged, "When did the contractions start?" She asked Kushina, wiping come of her wet bangs out of the way.

"Ten minutes ago," Kushina huffed out, breathing hard.

"Minato, go and get Tsunade." Suku commanded harshly.

His eyes widened, "What why?! Is something wrong?!"

"NOW!" She yelled, while her hand was engulfed in green. Suku put her hand to Kushina's belly and a mental picture appeared in her mind. Her baby boy was kicking hard, and he wanted out. Kushina let out a pain filled cry as he kicked her harder.

Tsunade soon arrived and immediately began asking questions.

"Suku, how long?"

"Seven or eight months with heavy contractions, her water has already broke, and the baby wants out."

"Well then I think it's time to deliver a baby." Tsunade smiled and began to talk Kushina through everything.

Three painful hours filled with screams, and shouts of encouragement later Kushina gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. His bright cerulean blue eyes matched his fathers.

"What will his name be?" Kushina asked softly, stroking his head that held tiny blonde hairs.

"Naruto…" Minato whispered.

And they sat in the living room for hours staring at their baby. Suku and Tsunade had insisted that Kushina had to sleep so Minato had to leave the room. So Tsunade and Suku looked after Naruto as everyone else slept.

-2 hours later-

Suku's eyes were heavy and the lack of sleep from the night before had finally caught up to her. She began to nod off when Tsunade noticed.

"Sleep, Suku. I'll watch over Naruto and Kushina." Tsunade cooed at Naruto, feeding him some warm milk. She merely nodded before drifting off to sleep.

The nightmares she had been having in Kiri were not the dreams she dreamt in the small cottage that night.

-Dream-

Suku walked the barren streets of Konoha in the dead of night. She carried a larger pack than normal and held a six year old boy in her arms, his head slumped over her shoulder and arms wrapped around her neck. His golden locks covering his face as she fled out of Konoha. Suku continued sprinting till she was out of Fire country and headed toward Kiri. To the only family she knew. Matsu welcomed her with open arms but with a hushed tone about it. He gave Suku her own room, and led the boy sleep with her that night. However Suku did not sleep that night. Fear of what she did kept her up, waiting for her untimely death.

-End of Dream-

"Suku wake up!" Shouted Tsunade, shaking her; she immediately sat up and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Suku asked. Tsunade shook her head, grabbed Suku's hand and rushed to Kushina's side.

"She has a temperature of 105 degrees. Her body rejects any kind of medical treatment, and her fever been rising at an alarming rate. And she started to have convulsions, her body is shutting down."

Kushina's breathing slowed and began sluggish almost as if it was hard to breathe; so Suku put her ear to her heart.

_Bump……bump………..bump……..bump…………………….bump……………………..bump_

"Her heart beat has slowed dramatically," Suku then gently squeezed Kushina's throat, " Her throat is inflamed and is closing off her oxygen. We have to do something or she will die!"

_Bump……………………………….Bump………………………………….Bump………………………..Bump……………….Bump………………………………………………..Bump……………………………………………._

Kushina didn't make it that night. The pregnancy was too much for her body to withstand and it just gave up. Minato was devastated and became depressed for a few days. However the council became suspicious of something so he was forced to grieve for his loss alone at home. Both Tsunade and Suku agreed to take care of Naruto during the day while he was at work.

-A month Later-

Madara was finally ready to put his plans into motion, with his eye sight fully healed he was ready the rain chaos down on Konohagakure no sato.

* * *

Left you with another cliff hanger. This story will end either chapter 15, 16 or 17. THERE WILL BE A SEQUAL! Please review and let me know what you thought of the story.

Also I forgot to put a quote up . so that's why there isn't one up this chapter. I also have a new story, Demonic Princess go read it. It's really short because I haven't really started writing it yet but let me know what ya think!!!!!!! Till next time!


	15. The Destroyer of Innocence Part 1

"Innocence dwells with wisdom, but never with ignorance"

-Death's Hand Chapter 15-

The days grew longer as summer settled in on Konoha, the sunset's become more beautiful, and everything was at its' greenest. Just as the sun hide itself dragging the light with it, four masked Anbu appeared on the roof tops of Konoha. They were evenly spread apart in a line, standing alert, waiting for orders. The leader of the group jumped to the house in front of the line and stood at its highest point. Her mask was white with a thick curved red line running from the right eye to the left side of their jaw, sort of separating one side of the mask from the other. On the horizon a large beast approached Konoha. The leader made a hand signal and one of the Anbu in the line appeared at their side.

"What is it, Tenkai-taicho?" The Anbu asked she wore a mask resembling a falcon.

"Send Rakurai to Yondaime-sama. Tell him the Kyuubi will arrive in three hours and we are going to scout the area for possible enemies." Tenkai answered. Falcon nodded and lifted up her sleeve, bit her thumb and summoned Rakurai. He quickly flew to the Hokage tower to deliver the message.

With another hand signal Tenkai's team appeared in a line in front her.

"Line formation, with Dog-san and Weasel-san on the outsides, next to Weasel is Falcon and I will be next to Dog-san." Tenkai then turned to the Anbu wearing a dog mask, "Please summon your nin-dogs." He nodded and ran through a series of hand seals then pressed his palm to the ground. Eight dogs appeared through the smoke around Kakashi.

+This is the formation+

-Dog-

-Tenkai-

-Falcon-

-Weasel-

"Surround the squad and alert us if there are any enemies." Kakashi ordered his nin-dogs, and with a nod all eight dogs sprinted off in different directions to surround the team.

"We have one hour to scout the Konoha forest. We need to be quick and thorough, and if we do encounter an enemy we work as a team. Do not break off and attack alone. Let's go." Tenkai nodded her head and everyone fell into position as they sprinted through the forest.

As they approached the end of the forest, Tenkai raised her hand and everyone stopped. Jumping to the tallest tree she closed her eyes and searched the surrounding area for enemies. She found someone not very far away from where the Kyuubi stood. The man seemed to be talking to it. Her eyes widened when she recognized the chakra signature.

"It can't be…" She whispered softly, the words barely audible as the wind's howling carried it away.

"It is him Suku. I guess he decided to go through with his plan. We should return to Konoha." A voice said behind Tenkai. She whipped around to see Weasel standing on the tree next to her. He took off his mask revealing his red sharingan eyes.

"I...I didn't know he would actually to do it. Itachi, Half of the things he says he is going to do, he doesn't. We have to stop him. Thousands of innocent people are going to die tonight if we don't." Suku whispered.

"Suku stop." Itachi said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You know we cannot beat him. He is far stronger than both of us combined. We need to retreat and-

Suku turned her head to Itachi and brushed his hand off from her shoulder, "Itachi put your mask back on." She commanded then jumped down from the trees and landed on the branch in front of Falcon and Dog; Itachi following with his weasel mask back on.

"Our hour is up, we need to get back to Konoha and help prepare for battle." Suku commanded, her voice empty of any emotion; and with that order everyone fell into position again sprinting back to Konoha.

-Konoha-

The Yondaime stood in his office with his most trusted shinobi and friends: Tsunade, Jiraiya, The Third Hokage, Senshi Suku, Uchiha Itachi, and Hatake Kakashi. Through the window, Minato looked down on Konoha as it prepared for battle. Naruto giggled and squirmed in his arms, trying to get free from his fathers grasp. Minato turned to his comrades and friends with a sad smile on his face.

"The Kyuubi will arrive at sunset, and I'm prepared to give my life for the safety of this village. But there is one thing that needs to be settled before the battle with the Kyuubi begins. I…" He looked down at Naruto with tears in his eyes, "You are the only people I can trust my son with. So will you promise me that you will take care of him?" Minato looked at his friend's hopeful, hoping someone would speak up.

"Minato," Tsunade began, "I'm leaving this village. I know it's not a good time to tell you this. But if I come back, I will take care of Naruto and teach him how to be an honorable ninja." He nodded and looked over at his former teacher.

Jiraiya shook his head, "I too and leaving, and where I'm headed is no place for a baby. I'm also not suited to be a father." He said solemnly.

Minato was beginning to lose hope; he couldn't ask his shinobi to take him in. They were way too young to raise a child. Naruto began to cry almost as if he could hear the conversation, and began to struggle to get out of Minato's arms again, this time more wildly. Naruto twisted his body so he was reaching for Suku. She blinked in surprise and looked up at Minato, who smiled and handed Naruto over to her. Naruto calmed down and rested his head on her shoulder. The young Senshi held him carefully, and looked into his deep blue eyes.

"Minato, I will take care of him." Suku spoke softly, "Even though I am so young I believe I can take care of him. I will become a Jounin again so I can have more spare time."

Everyone was speechless, even Minato. Suku felt a hand on wrap around her waist, "Hokage-sama, I too will help take care of Naruto." Itachi announced, "But unfortunately I will have to stay an Anbu. My father will not allow me to drop out. I will train him, and take care of him as much as I can."

Smiles appeared on many people's faces as they saw the young couple take on a huge responsibility together.

"Suku," The Third Hokage said, speaking up for the first time, "You will not have to drop out of the Anbu. You are doing quite well and it would be a shame to lose you. I will take care of Naruto during the day with the help of my assistant, and when you are on long missions I'm sure you have friends that are capable of taking care of him. Minato there is nothing to worry about; your son is well taken care of. I will make sure of it."

Tears fell from Minato's eyes as he smiled, "Thank you everyone."

The heart warming scene only lasted for another thirty minutes. The Kyuubi was almost upon them and it was time to take their places on the battlefield.

-.-

Suku's Anbu team took their place at the main gate where the whole Anbu force waited for the Kyuubi. Hyuuga's, Uchiha's, Inuzuka's, Yamanaka's, Nara's, every shinobi from every clan stood waiting for the Kyuubi, waiting to defend their home and loved ones. Vicious rivalries and clan feuds did not matter, as everyone stood together; side by side, waiting to help a comrade.

As the Kyuubi came into view, fear pierced the hearts of everyone. His nine massive tails moved left and right creating tsunamis and earthquakes. His orange fur was bristled sticking up every which way and his blood shot eyes showed his enragement. The brave shinobi of Konoha, shook of their fear replacing it with courage and fury and charged the demon head on. The already enraged demon fox swung on of his tails creating a large gust of wind, making the on coming shinobi fly back into the trees.

As hours passed, slowly but surely, more and more shinobi began to die, and many began to lose hope.

-With Minato-

The Yondaime stood on the Hokage monument, staring at the battle raging on before him, holding his only child Naruto. He clutched his child tighter as tears welled up in his eyes as he saw the battle they were fighting was hopeless. He was going to have to use a technique he knew from the beginning that he was going to have to use. Summoning Gamabunta, Minato rode off to his final battle. Leaving only his whispers in his wake,

"Please forgive me…"

-Battlefield-

"Hold it off till the Fourth arrives!" A shinobi yelled encouraging his comrades. Just as the words left his mouth, Minato arrived carrying his newborn son.

Suku, who had been fighting with her Anbu team, looked up at the Hokage and tears welled up in her eyes. She knew as well that this was a battle that they wouldn't be able to win and Minato was going to make the ultimate sacrifice.

He stood on Gamabunta, and flew through hand seals. It was a good five minutes before he completed the series of hand seals.

A great flash of light blinded the whole battlefield and when it subsided only Naruto remained on Gamabunta's back. Minato had disappeared completely and so had the Kyuubi.

---

Chaos and confusion erupted on the battle field as to what happened to their beloved Hokage, and the Demon Kyuubi. The higher ranked shinobi, like the Anbu, began giving out orders to eliminate the pandemonium. Despite being ordered to go home, Suku and her team went to Gamabunta where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Council stood with Naruto.

"So the Minato chose to seal the demon instead of destroying it, interesting." Jiraiya whispered his hand on his chin and a far off look on his face.

"We should kill the child to be rid of the demon!" One of the councilmen, Uchiha Fugaku yelled. He activated his sharingan and ran toward Naruto, who was helplessly crying on the ground.

"No. Minato entrusted this child to me. You will not harm him in any way." Suku announced appearing in front of Fugaku.

"Move, Senshi. This is official council business that you are not apart of." Fugaku ordered, as he took a fighting stance.

"Are you going to go against the fourth Hokage's dying wish? The man you people saw as a hero?" Tsunade demanded, as she moved to defend Naruto and Suku. Many of the council members, Nara, Inuzukas, and surprisingly the Hyuuga agreed with Tsunade.

"This child will not be harmed; he will be in the care of Senshi Suku until we say other wise. Anyone who disobeys or harms the child will be sentenced to death." The council announced. Tsunade and Suku breathed a sigh of relief as they councilmen began to walk away.

"This is not over Senshi," Fugaku growled, his brow ruffled in a grimace as he spat towards Suku barely missing.

"Is that a threat?" She snarled, ripping her mask off her face. A disgusting smirk appeared on his face as he walked over to Suku and whispered harshly.

"It's more than a threat it's a promise that will end your life and that filthy demon of yours too." He turned his back and walked away, with an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

Once he had returned to Konoha, Suku picked the crying Naruto up and she too returned back to Konoha.

---

The next few days were spent mourning the dead and celebrating the 'death' of the Kyuubi. Sarutobi came out of retirement and was once again the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. He had announced to the Village that Minato had sacrificed himself to save the village and had taken the demon with him. But the villagers knew it was a lie; somehow the truth had leaked out that the demon Kyuubi was sealed within Naruto. However his lineage was kept a secret, for no one in the council dared to utter a single word that might result in Naruto dying.

Suku did not return to the Anbu for the first year after the Kyuubi attack. She stayed home and raised Naruto, just as a mother would. At first she was a bit unsure of what she should do but after a couple of day's her motherly instincts surfaced and everything became more and more natural to do. Suku took Naruto to the park regularly, even though he couldn't climb on things well he sure loved trying. He had started walking at an early age of 7 months, which surprised Suku. She hadn't expected him to be that mobile for at least another three months.

There had been a long discussion with the Hokage about when Naruto should start his training. Being accomplished ninja's already at such a young age both Suku and Itachi wanted to begin his training when he around the age of four or five. However, Sarutobi argued that he was too young and should enjoy being a kid.

-Flashback-

"Both you and Itachi know what it's like to be trained at such a young age; did you ever wish that you could just be normal and play with the other children when you were little?" The third asked, taking a drag from his pipe.

The office was quiet for a moment then Suku spoke slowly, "Yes, there were points in my life as a child that I did want to be free. But we are not going to restrict Naruto as our parents did. He will be able to play outside, have fun, and be a kid. Where as Itachi and I were forced to train, we will not force him; he will have a choice."

Itachi nodded adding to their argument, "When we introduce him to being a Shinobi, he can decide for himself if this is what he wants to do."

Sarutobi took a deep breath and released it slowly, stroking his white-aged beard he replied, "That's fair enough, I will see you in a couple of months for another update."

-End of Flashback-

Naruto soon got the hang of walking and had started to run. He was however having trouble with speaking. At first the young couple was worried but after asking around they found it was normal because boys developed physical skills faster than mental skills. So, they began to teach him the Anbu sign language. His progress was slow yet steady and by the time his first birthday rolled around he had gotten the basics down and had already started talking.

As promised, Suku returned to the Anbu and Naruto was taken care of my Sarutobi and his assistant. Her old squad had gone separate ways, with Itachi being the captain of his own squad with Kakashi as his right hand. Rina became a hunter-nin trainee and would soon complete her training to become a full fledged Hunter-nin. So Suku was placed in another squad who had just lost a member.

---

Suku approached the Anbu Headquarters where she would be assigned a squad. It was a large building, but it looked like any other building in Konoha. Its exterior a dull grey color with a dark metal door, there was nothing that would indicate that it was the Anbu building. A newbie or an enemy would walk right past it, expecting a large sign saying, 'Anbu Headquarters'. Not even the villagers knew where it was, so many trainee's had to be blindfolded to keep it a secret.

Walking up the steps and opening the door brought back many memories of when she was with her old squad. They had been the youngest Anbu squad to be as successful as they had been. The four had gained the respect from many of the older Anbu members. So when Suku walked down the halls of the Anbu barracks, it was nice to see familiar faces that smiled down at her as she passed. But when you make friends you also make enemies, and there were a select few that didn't like Suku who glared at her as she passed.

A couple more people joined in on glaring at Suku, because of the fact that she was taking care of the 'demon'. She just brushed them off and continued walking with her head held high.

She knocked on the Commanders office and was granted entrance with a gruff yell.

Suku entered and immediately bowed showing respect for her superior.

"Sit," The man commanded. He was tall with long silver hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail and dull green eyes. He wore the standard clothing of black and gray armor, arm guards, and a signature spiral tattoo on his left shoulder.

"It's good to see again, I had hoped that you would return." He commented while signing some papers.

"Like wise, Shirei (1). I don't think I'm ready to leave just yet." She commented while taking a seat.

"Good, your new team meets at training area 44 in the north section. But you will meet your captain first in an hour. He wishes to meet you before you meet the rest of the team. You may reclaim your old room here at headquarter, with all of your equipment."

"Shirei, may I ask who my captain is?" Suku inquired.

*(1) Shirei-means Commander in Japanese; She cannot call him Taicho because that would be captain. His rank is higher than captain.

He merely laughed softly and waved his hand for her to leave. As she opened the door, Suku turned around she spoke quietly, "Thank you, Koga-san."

Suku's room was on the third floor where all the female Anbu members' rooms were. It was a dull room with only the necessities in it. Some Anbu members chose to paint the walls, and add color in it. Suku however, chose to keep it simple, with a double size mattress, a night stand, a dresser, a bathroom, and a walk-in closet for her equipment.

She quickly dressed into her Anbu uniform, it's soft yet sturdy fabric was comforting and familiar. She brushed her hand fingers over her black Anbu tattoo that was on her right shoulder. Female Anbu members received their tattoos on their right arms instead of left to determine gender of the Anbu member. The tattoo warmed up when they are summoned, whether it is their Taicho, Shirei, or the Hokage. Each one had the ability to call upon each member of the Anbu or a whole squad.

Three knocks echoed through her room, and Suku appeared by the door and opened it with her Anbu mask at her side.

A man almost a head taller than her stood in her door way, his dark brown hair pulled in a high pony tail that spiked out giving it the appearance of a pineapple. His dark brown eyes looked half open as he stood leaning lazily against the wall. He wore the standard Anbu armor with his mask at his side.

"I'm Nara Shikaku, your new captain." Shikaku introduced pushing himself off the wall.

"Nice to meet you Taicho, my name is Senshi Suku." Suku replied walking with Shikaku down the halls toward the main entrance, where the two left the Anbu headquarters with Shikaku leading the way.

They walked to a small tea shop that wasn't in the center of Konoha where most of the restaurants where. It was tucked back in one of the few quiets places in Konoha.

"I asked Koga-san to meet you first because I want to get to know you personally. As a captain I need to know my squad like the back of my hand. So please tell me about yourself, like your techniques, what you specialize in etcetera."

"I'm a medic-nin, with my clans Kekki Genki the split body; which cuts my chakra system in half, one normal blue chakra for Jutsu's and the other yellow poisonous chakra that will do anything I wish it too. Such as, paralyze, internal bleeding, and mess with ones brain or body functions. I try to use it only when necessary, because I don't want to rely on it. When I was a Genin, my sensei taught me pressure points and as I became a Chunin I advanced my training with it. I can heal, create a poison and cure about anything from the training with Tsunade-sama. I recently when to Kiri and discovered that I have family there, in fact the whole clan is there."

Shikaku nodded liking her summary, "Very good, I think you'll fit nicely into our team. We could use a medic." He then finished his hot tea.

Shikaku sighted heavily and rubbed the back of his neck, "Okay, let's go meet the team."

Placing their masks on their faces, the two then left.

Suku knew that training ground 44 (A.k.a: Forest of death) was used by Anbu teams to help their teamwork. She had trained with Anko in their, however there was a part of the training ground that was off limits to all Shinobi under the rank of Anbu.

They reached a gate where two Anbu stood waiting for them.

"Suku meet your new teammates: Gekko Hayate, and Uzuki Yugao."

---

Suku fit right in with her new team and soon they their stats of mission completion rivaled Itachi's new found team (that had been doing extremely well under his command.)

Suku carried Naruto home from Sarutobi's office. The streets of Konoha were empty, with the occasional Shinobi here and there. She had just gotten back from guard duty, which had been boring as always. She sighed and shifted Naruto. His small hands griped her Anbu vest as tightly as his finger would allow, and his head rested just bellow her color bone. His fragile body had a plain black long sleeved shirt, and blue cloth pants on.

(He is wearing a diaper)

As she turned the corner, Suku was surrounded by three Anbu. They were however not normal Anbu, they carried tip less Tanto's instead of the Katana's everyone else is ordered to use and wore black masks instead of white ones with designs on them.

One of the three stepped forward and spoke harshly, "Hand over the demon and you walk away unharmed."

Suku narrowed her eyes and glared at the 'Anbu', "Who are you? And why do you want Naruto?"

"We are not obligated to answer your pitiful questions. Are you going to give the demon up willingly or are you prepared to die for that _thing_?"

Suku's hand glowed yellow, "Are you?" She snarled, clutching Naruto with one hand.

"Very well," He answered, the man then turned to his team, "The demon must be alive, Danzo-sama wants him unharmed. The girl he doesn't care about, do what you want with her."

The other two Anbu's disappeared and reappeared next to Suku. With unsheathed Tanto's, the two began to slash at Suku, hoping to decapitate her. She skillfully dodged the two blades, and waited for an opening. The two continued to slash at her but they aimed at the same spot and their Tanto's locked.

'There!' Thought Suku as she used the opportunity, she pressed her hand to one of the 'Anbu's' head's and they crumbled to the floor unconscious. The other jumped back to the leader.

"I'll take care of this you incompetent fool!" He yelled charging Suku with his Tanto unsheathed. Instead of slashing wildly like the other two had done, he carefully placed his slashes so Suku would back up to a wall. As he closed in on her, Suku grabbed three Senbon and threw each one a few seconds after the other. He managed to dodge the first two but the third connected with his throat. The man dropped to the ground, choking and squirmed wildly trying to get out the Senbon lodged in his throat. Suku walked over to him, and kicked his stomach so he was lying on his back; with her split body activated, she grabbed a fist full of hair and knocked the man out cold. She then yanked the Senbon out of his throat. The third Anbu, who had attacked her first fled back to where ever he came from leaving his subordinates behind.

Suku glanced down at Naruto to find that he was sleeping peacefully. She laughed softly, and smiled down at him, moving his golden locks out of his face.

But her smile faded from her face as she looked down at the two 'Anbu' that had attacked her. Suku closed her eyes concentrating on the Hokage's chakra signature, and flared her chakra as a sort of distress signal. Within a couple of minutes, the Third Hokage arrived with two Anbu at his side.

"Suku, what happened?" He asked, deep concern in his voice.

"These 'Anbu' imposters attacked me on my way home from your office, Hokage-sama. They demanded that I give them Naruto, and then tried to take him from me forcefully. The third one ran away, they did however mention a man named Danzo-sama do you know him?"

Sarutobi sighed heavily and stroked his beard, "I knew he would eventually try to kidnap Naruto. It was only a matter of time, I'm actually surprised he waited this long. However, I think it would be best if you moved into Anbu Headquarters, it is the safest place for Naruto to be right now. I'll make sure Koga has watch over him when you are on missions."

"Thank you Hokage-sama, but if I may ask who is this Danzo man? What does he want with Naruto?"

"Danzo is a war mongering bitter man, who thinks he knows what's best for Konoha. He created his own Anbu called 'Root' which supposedly stands for the roots of Konoha. He wishes to use the Kyuubi sealed within Naruto to practically take over the elemental nations. So he's trying to grab him when he's young so he can raise him to be an emotionless killing weapon. We can interrogate these men, and hope to find out where their headquarters are but until then we can't really do much about it."

Suku nodded, "Thank you again Hokage-sama, but I think it's time I take my leave. Good night." With that Suku disappeared into the night, heading home to where she so desperately wanted to reach.

She did not know however that attempts like this tonight, where only just the beginning of what was to come. Danzo would have his way, and his was willing to kill anyone that stood in his way.

* * *

I'm cutting this chapter into two parts. Just like a special episode of Naruto would be an hour long this is only part 1 of chapter 15.


	16. ExcitmentPart 2

**Thank you Azura Soul Reaver for the review ^_^ it is much appreciated. **

Thick clouds of black and blue blanketed the sky, leaving no trace of the innocent light blue heavens. It's raging wind refusing to cease, as trees moaned and creaked in protest. Strikes of lighting and howling thunder rippled through the air piercing the silence that only whispered in complain.

A child cried in the distance, his screams of pain and agony far surpassing the storm. The once innocent and happy boy lay on the ground in a velvet red warm liquid. Pools of blood doubled in size around him, flowing from the child's deep wounds.

His shrieks of terror ceased as a curtain of blackness appeared and closed the gate of pain. His mind took him to a far off place, a safe place, deep in his subconscious. The small blond three and half year old stood waist deep in water. Before him was a large iron gate with haunting red eyes staring down at him.

"_**Are you afraid,?" It boomed laughing down at the boy. He merely blinked tilting his head to the side.**_

"_**Where am I?" He wondered aloud looking around, taking in the long sewer pipes and a smell that was neither sweet nor awful. The darkness around the figure dissipated so you could see the animal's full body and face. His rows and rows of sharp glinting teeth smiled manically down at the boy. His large nine tails lashed this way and that, hitting the cage yet it seemed the cage remained unscratched by the attacks. **_

"_**You dare ignore me?!" The beast yelled his anger rising, however the boy merely stood looking at him. **_

"_**No," He announced, "I'm not afraid of you." A deep growl rumbled through the cage and sharp claws suddenly pushed thought the gate trying to swipe at him.**_

_**The boy fell into the water, surprised at the attack. **_

"_**Are you afraid now?" The demon questioned, his eyes fixed upon the small boy; who had picked himself up out of the water. **_

_**He however shook his head, "No you just startled me." The Kyuubi shook his head angrily then began to speak with the boy calmly. **_

"_**I'm the Kyuubi no Yoko, the King of all Demons; and you are my host. I was sealed within you by that blasted Fourth Hokage. Now tell me boy, what is your name?" **_

"_**Naruto," He replied, "Uzumaki Naruto." **_

_**---- **_

Four Anbu sped through Konoha, searching for the small blonde boy Naruto. Suddenly one of the four Anbu stopped and twisted around.

"Taicho what is it?" a male voice asked, his mask that of a dog.

"His chakra…it's fading. He's this way!" She yelled running to his location. When they reached the ally two shinobi stood laughing at Naruto's disembogued and bloody body.

At that moment something snapped in Suku, it was like a gate of pent up anger was released and these two shinobi where going to feel her wrath. She appeared in front of one of the shinobi, grabbed his neck and slammed his head into the brick wall.

"Did you do this?!" She asked, gripping his neck so tightly that he was loosing all color in his face. The man squirmed underneath her firm grip yet he was able to choke out, "Yes….I….killed the…demon…." Hearing his words, Suku smashed his head again against the wall. Warm blood trickled down the Shinobi's head and onto her wrist. One of the Anbu, the one wearing a falcon mask, tried to jump in to stop Suku but was immediately stopped by another Anbu wearing a weasel mask.

"Don't, this is her battle." He ordered quietly, guiding Rina out of the ally.

The other Shinobi, who had watched the whole scene yelled in terror trying to flee.

Seeing this Suku threw two Senbon at his Achilles tendons, making him fall painfully to the ground. As she approached the man on the ground he began to crawl away yelling for her to keep away. He however, did not get very far as Suku slammed her foot down on the man's back.

"Why should I spare you?!" She yelled angrily grabbing his hair and bringing his face up to hers. His face was twisted into a smirk as he plunged a hidden kunai into her arm. She immediately dropped the man onto the ground. Hissing in pain, Suku pulled out the kunai lodged in her arm. As he laughed, his eyes glinted with pleasure. Growling, and fully enraged by this man Suku kicked the man as hard as she could, releasing all her anger. The kick connected with his check and a sickening crack was heard as his neck shattered. The smile never faded from his face as his head just hung in the air unmoving.

"Suku!" Itachi yelled, bent over Naruto's body. She turned around running to his side.

"He's lost almost half his blood, if we don't do something he will die." Grabbing her bag, Suku shoved three different pills down Naruto's throat, then began to heal his injures. But they were to serious for her to fully heal him.

"He needs to go to the hospital; I'm going to need some help."

-Hospital-

Itachi, Kakashi, and Rina, sat in the waiting room waiting for Suku to come out of the emergency room.

"How did this happen?" Rina questioned, her hands shaking in anger. Kakashi put his hands over hers, and pulled her into his lap. "I'm not sure, but you have to calm down. Being anger right now will not help Naruto or Suku right now." Rina's purple hair fell over her face as she laid her head against Kakashi's shoulder.

Itachi watched the scene out of the corner of his eyes and it reminded him of Suku and himself a couple years ago. Things changed between the two when Suku moved back into the Anbu headquarters with Naruto. He saw the two maybe three of four times a week when he had been seeing them regularly every day for almost a year. So he had no choice but to spend more time at home. Fugaku continued to pressure Itachi with more and more missions. His outlet to let go and be himself were gone and he returned to his cold self again.

Itachi didn't like his old self, but he was a cornered man with no other way to shield himself from the world but with his cold, emotionless mask. But, when he was around Suku a bit of his mask melted away.

The three Shinobi waited for another two hours before Suku stumbled out of the emergency room exhausted.

"Two broken arms, four fractured ribs, a severe concussion, some minor damage to his spinal cord, and a broken leg in numerous places; but we were able to heal the majority of the damage, the rest he will have to heal on his own. He is sleeping and Koga-san is personally watching over him."

The four shinobi then walked out of the hospital to their respective houses. When Itachi and Suku were about to part ways Suku stopped him.

"Itachi…do you want to stay with me tonight?" She asked not wanting to be alone. Itachi nodded and walked next to her; silently he gasped her hand and interlocked it with his own.

"Let's go home." He murmured.

-Suku's House-

Exhausted, both Uchiha and Senshi laid down in Suku's large king bed. After about twenty minutes of lying down silently, Suku couldn't hold it in anymore and silent tears fell down her face and onto the pillow. She was careful to keep her breathing even and not to breathe through her nose that was beginning to get stuffy. Suku was sure that Itachi was asleep but was surprised when strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him.

Itachi kissed the top of her forehead whispering, "What's wrong?"

More tears fell as she spoke, "What happened to us Itachi? I find myself missing you every night. Missing your warmth, your touch, your kiss…but you pulled away and became distant. I couldn't bear not being with you everyday, seeing your face, seeing your beautiful smile…" Itachi gripped Suku tighter pulling her even closer to him.

"I'm sorry," He whispered in her ear, "I won't leave, I won't ever leave your side." Nibbling her ear, Itachi began a trail of kisses down her neck, color bone, and check till he came to her lips. He moved, positioning himself on top of her then moved slowly toward her lips. Itachi then stopped 90% of the way there, waiting for Suku to close the distance. In an instant their lips connected as Suku wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, and his own arms around her waist. And so the night of passion began.

The next morning the two shinobi slept in, something they hadn't done in a long time. The sun was almost half way up the sky as they began to wake up. Suku sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes; Itachi's arms still around her waist. The birds loud chirping had awakened the sixteen year olds. Itachi untangled his arms around Suku's waist and stretched, yawning loudly.

Suku placed herself in his lap kissing his lips softly, "Good morning,"

"Mmhmm," he moaned nibbling on her neck. Suku whimpered in pleasure as he left little bite marks.

Suku positioned herself on top of him and moved her hands down to Itachi's pelvic bones and began to massage them. His whole body relaxed and became Jell-O like. Suku smirked in triumph and massaged deeper.

After their little 'play' time was over, they both ate breakfast and got ready.

They went to visit Naruto at the hospital and Suku was surprised to see that he wasn't awake yet. But it was normal that he wouldn't be awake and they left to go to the training grounds.

-1 Month Later-

Naruto made a full recovery, and it was unanimous between Sarutobi, Itachi, and Suku that they start his training two years earlier than they originally agreed on. So the two sixteen year olds started his training with small weights on his body and gradually added more and more on him. Every morning, Naruto would run laps around Konoha with Suku or Itachi or both. Suku decided to move back to her house with Naruto and then Itachi soon moved in with them. His father was outraged yet he could do nothing about it.

Suku's Anbu reputation grew outside of Konoha and she was beginning to be nicknamed Death's Hand. They however did not know who she was only that she wore an Anbu mask that was split in half with a thick curved red line, the standard Anbu uniform except with shorts, and bandages wrapped around her arms covering her wrists, and fingers completely. Her split body technique, and pressure points made her a deadly hand to hand combat opponent, but her ninjutsu and genjutsu were lacking. Nara Shikaku resigned from the Anbu when his wife had a son named Shikamaru around the time Naruto was born. So she was promoted to caption of her squad. After a year Hayate and Yugao had become lovers and Yugao had compromised a mission because of her personal feelings for Hayate and Suku had no choice but to remove her from their team. Yugao transferred to Itachi's team when Rina officially became a hunter-nin.

So Suku was in need of two other shinobi to complete her team. But Koga had other plans and Suku became a member of the Anbu Black ops; which is like the regular Anbu but they are the personal guard for the Hokage. There are less hours that they have to work, but the missions are harder that include infiltrating enemy territory for information and to kill Missing Ninja that are to powerful for normal Anbu members.

Itachi continued his Anbu missions with his team, and he became happy again; he no longer needed hid cold mask to hide behind.

Naruto's training was going extremely well, every week they had to add more to his chakra weights. The chakra weights were quite simple; you used your chakra to add more weight. If you put to much chakra into them then they would be significantly heavier, so Suku made Naruto practice his chakra control so he would be able to add the weight himself. Itachi taught him ninjutsu and genjutsu while Suku taught him Taijutsu. As promised, Naruto was able to have fun. He met Shikaku's son Shikamaru and they instantly became friends, along with Itachi's little brother, Uchiha Sasuke. They played at the play ground daily and often trained together as well.

The meeting between the two had been a bit awkward. But as soon as they started playing with each other, they hit it off.

The meeting between the Kyuubi and Naruto stayed a secret with only Suku and Itachi knowing.

Word about Naruto's training reached Danzo and he was furious because he knew he wouldn't be able to control Naruto, so soon instead of kidnapping attempts they turned into assassination attempts. Suku decided that until Naruto could take Danzo's Root Anbu out himself, he would sleep in their room for his own protection. The assassination attempts were every week and it soon began to tire both Itachi and Suku. So, Kakashi, Rina, and Anko moved into the Senshi Estate, much to Itachi's dismay. The two no longer had any privacy what so ever.

-Two days before the Spring Festival-

The Spring Festival was huge in Konoha. Kage's from other villages would come to visit with the Hokage creating stronger allied bonds; this year it was the Mizukage from Kiri.

-Anbu Headquarters-

All members of the Anbu, including all the different branches, were summoned to the large debriefing room. The Anbu squads were numbered by power, one being the strongest followed by two, three, four and, five. These five squads were the strongest shinobi, besides the Hokage, in the village and was the last line of defense. They were called the Fire Guardians.

(AN: If you have a better name for these five squads, message me or review on this chapter and let me know!)

Sarutobi stood at the front of the room with Koga.

"As you all know tomorrow is the Spring Festival. The Mizukage of Kiri will be our guest of honor this year. I will not be assigning any squads to be his guards while he is here."-There were some gasps in the room, however no one dared to speak up-"He is bringing his own personal guards, the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri. Do not anger them, do not speak with them, do not come in contact with any of them, and finally do not look like a threat to them. They will kill anyone they even have the slightest bit of suspicion for. Just stay out of their way and everything will run smoothly."-The new recruits of the Anbu shifted slightly uneasy, nervous, that they would mess up-"However, that is no reason to let security slack, Koga if you please."

The Hokage smiled and nodded to Koga he spoke with authority, his voice smooth and calm, "I will call out the squads that will be on patrol duty, if I call your squads please leave to room 6A where you will be assigned your posts: Squad's 10, 15,16,17, and 20 please leave the room. Now these next squads are to…"

Koga continued reading off the lists of Anbu's assignments and soon only five squads of Anbu remained.

"Good," puffed Sarutobi, taking a drag from his pipe, "You remaining five, will be my personally guards. Tenkai however, please come with me." A tall girl around the age of sixteen, her long bluish-green hair pulled back into a high ponytail stepped forward and walked with the Hokage out of the briefing room into Koga's office that was down the hall.

"Tenkai, you will not be participating with your team during the week of the Spring Festival. I have other plans for you to do. As you now know, Matsu-dono, his children, and his guards are coming to Konoha, and I could not think anyone better than you to show them around and make them feel welcome. You will be a representative of Konoha, and you will not leave them during the full week of the Festival. But this leaves us with the problem, who will care for Naruto?"

Suku nodded thinking of the options she had. Itachi was caption of Squad Three and was assigned to be the Hokage's guard along with Koga and three other teams. Kakashi, and Rina also had their orders, so did Anko.

The Senshi sighed, "Hokage, would it be okay if I brought Naruto with me? There would be no safer place for him to be with than a Kage and his guards."

The aged Hokage thought for a moment, stroking his grey-white beard slowly, "Yes, that would be fine. I will give you today off to teach Naruto how to act, look, and speak properly. I do not want any problems arising while Matsu-dono and his family are here. He will arrive early tomorrow morning, please meet him at the gate."

"I will be there Hokage-sama, thank you." She bowed then left the room, hurrying home.

-Senshi Estate-

Naruto ran through the house, stopping once in a while to look in closed door. The small three and half year old giggled when he saw spiky purple hair sticking out from behind the couch. Trying to be as quiet as possible, the boy tip toed to the end of the couch then yelled, "Found you!" Anko jumped up and softly tackled the boy, practically tickling him the death. That's how Suku found the two, rolling on the floor in the family room playing.

"I hate the break up the fun, so…." Smiling Suku dove onto the floor and started tickling both Anko and Naruto. This lasted for about ten minutes, and then they all collapsed onto the wooden floor panting with laughter.

"Why are you home so early?" Anko questioned picking herself up off the floor.

"I have to teach Naruto a few things about manners. He is going to accompany me, as I show the Mizukage, and his family around Konoha." Suku then picked herself up, along with Naruto up off the ground. "We have to go get a few things but we will be back later."

Naruto squirmed in Suku's grasped, "I wanna walk." He complained, wiggling his way out of her arms and onto the ground. Naruto wore a sky blue t-shirt that was a little too big, dark blue ninja pants, and black ninja sandals. As the two entered the busy streets of Konoha, Naruto began to get pushed around by the hustle and bustle of the people. He was soon pushed to the ground by a rude man running through the crowd of people.

"Onee-san!" Naruto yelled looking for Suku. He frantically turned his head every direction looking for her. As he tried to stand up, he was just shoved to the ground again by the crowd. His hands were stepped on repeatedly bringing tears to his eyes. Naruto then found himself being picked up by strong arms and hoisted onto someone's shoulders.

"Nii-san!" Naruto yelled in joy, forgetting his aching fingers.

"What were you doing on the ground?" Itachi asked shoving his way through the street and onto a less crowded one.

"I was with Onee-chan then I fell and I couldn't find her." He answered, new tears forming in his eyes.

Itachi jumped onto a near by house and surveyed the busy street. He immediately spotted Suku pushing through the crowd making her way towards them.

"There you are, Itachi what are you doing here?" Suku huffed, her hands on her hips. Itachi still wore his Anbu uniform with his mask at his side.

"I was patrolling when I saw Naruto. Why are you out here?"

Suku smirked and grabbed Naruto off Itachi's shoulders, "I tell you when you get home tonight. We have to go sorry." Laughing she jumped back into the crowd with Naruto on her hip.

Suku and Naruto made their way to a small clothing shop.

"Good morning, can I help you with anything?" The aged store clerk asked, her long grey hair was pulled in a neat bun with chopstick, and she wore a plain blue kimono.

"Yes, I'm looking for a silk Kimono for the festival, and also one for him."-She motioned to Naruto, who was looking around the store- "The price does not matter. I would like your finest." The elderly lady nodded, and walked to the back of her shop, then returning after a few minutes with two wooden boxes. The larger of the two was an older box, the wood was darker and the edges were a bit dulled. She set them down, and opened the large one up first revealing a deep cherry red silk kimono with beautiful white, and light pink cherry blossoms; the obi was a lighter shade of red. Suku gasped as she saw it, she touched the sleeve it's soft fabric begged to be worn.

"I'll take it," She whispered still eying the Kimono. The lady nodded and set it aside opening up the smaller box, revealing an ocean blue kimono with waves at the bottom of the Kimono with white oak leaves falling from the silver oak tree on the back.

"Even though it's smaller, this one here is a bit more expensive than the other you want." The clerk said closing the box.

"I'll buy them both. I'll also get the icy blue kimono, the purple plum one over there, and olive Crain one for him, and the black silk kimono with the embroidery of the dragon." Suku summed up looking around the shop. The elderly lady nodded and grabbed the correct boxes. There were a total of six boxes, and deciding she did not want to carry them, Suku grabbed a blank scroll out of her pouch, and sealed the boxes within the scroll. Tucking the scroll back into her pouch, Suku gave the clerk her money and left the store with Naruto on her hip.

----

**The next chapter will be of the festival and some other events…. Ahem well Review please!!! :D**


	17. Suku's Lament

~"True love doesn't have a happy ending, because true love never ends. Letting go is one way of saying I love you." ~

---

The glow of pale pinks and orange escaped through the mountain which caged the faded colors and slowly rose up out of the sky. The luminosity of the sun had grown dull over the night and with each tiny surge of might, it rose up into the sky slowly as its glow intensified. The light washed the pastel calm colors off the sky, creating a clear sapphire sky. Small cool breezes drifted through the large village. Building's of dull white and grey stood tall, with long cable's connecting here and separating there. The ever so busy village had yet to open its eyes and awaken for the day. It was a calming silence that the morning gave to the village. Its final breath of silence gave oneself the deep sense of tranquility that a shinobi rarely felt.

Suku stood by the gate with Naruto at her side waiting for the Mizukage. She wore her Anbu outfit though minus her mask, and Naruto wore a sky blue t-shirt with waves on it, blue pants and standard ninja sandals. He grasped her hand nervously, Suku noticed, as his palms began to sweat and he shifted uncomfortably. The soon to be four year old then stopped fidgeting as mist began to creep closer to the gates. The morning air was a bit cold yet it was no where near cold enough for mist. Everything in the air seemed to freeze and move slower. Frost formed on low branches as the temperature continued to drop. Naruto's hand squeezed Suku's tighter, his anxiety rising. He stepped back and attempted to hide behind Suku as a shadow in the mist became visible.

However Suku gently pushed him beside her, "Do not show fear or nervousness. Be brave." She whispered grasping his cold hand. Naruto stared up at Suku, her eyes fixed upon the heavy mist that had now touched the feet of the pair. The shadowed figure walked through the mist with grace, confident in each step despite the mist. However, there was only this visible shinobi within the mist. Suku knew that there were more, she could sense their chakra; she could feel the power that emitted off them; the brute strength that could easily crush any shinobi.

Despite being an extremely skilled medic and shinobi, Matsu could not leave Kiri unprotected. Leaving the village in the care of his wife and son, Matsu and his personal guards had finally arrived at Konoha no Sato.

The shadowed figure stepped out of the mist, and Suku wasn't surprised that it was Mika. Her long dark blue hair tied with a black ribbon near the ends of her hair as she walked towards Suku and Naruto. Mika's cold blue eyes cut into Suku's own like daggers, yet the younger Senshi held her gaze. As another figure emerged from the mist, Mika took a step back realizing how close she had been. She still wore an every so white battle Kimono, but this time instead of the icy blue obi, it was deep crimson red. A man slightly taller than Mika appeared, his gait was confident like Mika's yet in a different way. He was familiar yet Suku could not quite remember where she had seen this man. His medium length blood red hair was spiked at the top and flattened as it grew longer

Suku gazed into his green eyes curiously, still pondering where she had seen this man. He stood by Mika's side, almost protectively. Soon more shinobi appeared out of the mist and took their places by Mika and the mysterious red head. Suku then noticed a girl, a couple years younger than her, with white braided hair that also looked familiar. She wore a similar battle kimono but hers was significantly longer, it almost reached her ankles where as Mika's was just touching her knees; it too was white with a dark grey obi.

Suku then shifted her gaze slightly to Naruto, though still keeping an eye on the Kiri shinobi. His eyes were on the young girl with the braided white hair. Her grey blue eyes seemed to captivate him as he gazed deeper into them. Suku would swear later that he didn't even blink. His body was still and his hand was no longer clutching hers. It was like he was being mesmerized, pulled into her deep eyes.

Tension began to build as each side became aware of the two youngest Shinobi's unusual eye contact. Not knowing what Naruto was doing, Suku became uneasy; this was not a good way to welcome their guests. Gently, Suku guided Naruto behind her and the grey eyes girl looked up at her angrily.

"Kouryuu," Matsu called stepping out of the mist, "That's enough." The white haired girl, Kouryuu, bowed her head immediately apologizing.

There were seven total shinobi, not including Matsu that had arrived. His personal guards stood protectively around him.

"Suku," Matsu smiled walking over to her, "It's nice to see you again, and who is this little one?" Suku returned the smile as Naruto peeked out from behind her.

"Mizukage-sama, it's a pleasure to see you again as well. This is Naruto; he will be accompanying us this week during the festival." Naruto remembering his lessons with Suku, he then bowed with respect. Suku smiled inwardly, Naruto was doing well.

"I see you brought your personal guards." Suku commented, looking over at the seven shinobi.

"Yes, I could not just leave Kiri unprotected even if I wanted too." Matsu replied gazing over at his guards.

Then Suku, Naruto, Matsu, and his guards entered Konohagakure no Sato. Normally any time Suku and Naruto would be out and about in the village; Naruto would receive cold glares from many villagers that they passed. But today he received smiles, but only because he was accompanied by the Mizukage.

Matsu's guards split into two groups of three; they positioned themselves around Matsu of that of a circle. The only guard to not split into a group was the mysterious red headed man that had stood protectively in front of Mika. He stood next to Matsu, his eyes gazing warily at the villagers as they passed them.

The fiery headed male wore traditional samurai clothing, long white loose pants with a loose fitting black shirt and a red cloth that was tightly wrapped around his waist. His face was flawless, his smooth cream skin with his dazzling green eyes. He carried two Katana's; they were securely placed in between the red fabric that acted as belt. The long twin swords had different sheathes, one being a deep red color with swirls of black mist, and the other was pitch black with red swirling flames.

It was hard for Suku to believe that this man was the most powerful one out of all the seven. He seemed so….innocent. Yet, she knew he was; his amount of chakra, the walk of superiority, and the way the others respected his orders. But something above all else told Suku that this man was not to be trifled with, it was his presence, his killer intent. The one thing that made people fear you the instant they saw you; the heavy force that brought you to your knees and numbed your body. Your mind screamed to you to move yet your body would not respond.

Those weak, such as the villages, shrunk back from his gaze, hiding inside the shops. It amazed Suku, and only fueled her curiosity of this man. Naruto however, did not share her same curiosity. He once again gripped her hand tightly, the feeling of fear returning to his body.

'**Naruto, you seem frightened? You tremble in this mere mortal's presence but not of my own?' The Kyuubi laughed, then looking through Naruto's eyes and saw why, 'Oh…this is most surprising, he has made a contract with the Okibi's, a wise choice indeed.' Naruto startled by the conversation stopped walking for a moment. Suku looked down at him questionably then gently guided him to walk again. **

'**Kyuubi, what do you mean?' Naruto asked, beginning his internal conversation with the fox. **

'**That man, has a contract with the Okibi's, the phoenix clan. They are the rulers over the fire element in your mortal realm.' The fox said, he however did not feel like explaining the intricate details that a mere four-year old would not understand. **

The conversation with the Kyuubi came to an abrupt stop, which Naruto was thankful for. Trying to talk to someone in your mind, and pay attention to the real world at the same time were hard things to do. Suku, lead the group to a large red building, the Hokage tower.

Sarutobi stood in front of the building, fully dressed in his white-red Hokage robes, and a hat with the kanji for fire. Koga stood to his right with his team, and Itachi stood to his left with his own team. Suku had never seen Koga's teammates before; it was like they appeared out of thin air.

Sarutobi walked over to Matsu, "It's been awhile old friend, come let us talk." Smiling the two walked into the building, as Suku was about to follow when Koga blocked the entrance, he spoke to Matsu's personal guards.

"My name is Koga; may I speak to your captain?" Koga asked, without hesitation the red headed stepped forward. The two shinobi stepped away from the group and spoke for a few moments before the leader of the seven swordsmen directed his attention to his own subordinates.

"Kouryuu, Mika, Zabuza, and Suigetsu," He called out, "You are to accompany Mizukage-sama. The rest follow me." The man stated walking back to the group.

"Understood, Reizo-sama," The four said in unison, disappearing inside the building. Koga and his team of three others left the group to follow the Hokage. Itachi then stepped forward, "We are to accompany you to the Kuroki Hotel where you will be staying. There the Mizukage will meet you for the beginning ceremony of the festival."

Itachi then lead the group away from the Hokage tower. Suku followed, knowing she would need to change for the festival. As they walked, the Senshi found herself walking next to the red head now known as Reizo. Then the memory finally made itself clear of where she had seen this man. When she first arrived in Kiri with Tsunade and Rina, him, the girl Kouryuu, and another shinobi gave them a lovely welcome into the village. Suku turned her head looking at him, this man is so much stronger than he was a couple years ago, then again so was she.

There was no talking between the two groups of shinobi; each one keeping their distance from the other. Suku walked up to the front of the group where Itachi was.

"What time do I need to be back at the hotel?" She questioned, looking at the rising sun.

"Be back in two hours." Itachi answered; he smiled at the two then turned the corner walking the opposite way.

---

Suku placed Naruto on her back then sprinted to her own house. Quickly she shoved two boxes onto her bed, turned on the shower and yelled, "Anko!"

As Suku was undressing Anko appeared at her door way, "Yeah, yeah I'll help the brat get ready." Thanking her, Suku jumped in the shower.

Once she was out of the shower, she towel dried her hair and body, and then opened the larger box of the two. Suku laid out the cherry red silk kimono and began to put her hair up into a neat bun.

Slipping her Kimono on over the light pink slip, Suku then tied the Kimono. (I don't know what shoes or what ever those wooden things are so! I'm just not going to say anything about them..)

"Naruto!" She called her voice echoing through the house as she walked towards the door, "We need to leave!"

He came running down the hall way, almost slipping with as Anko laughed at the two.

The rushed pair left the house, their destination the Kuroki Hotel.

---

Itachi and the others waited outside for the Hokage and Mizukage to arrive. There were no villagers in sight, nor were Suku and Naruto. Just as it reached the two hour mark, Suku and Naruto came into view. The sun at that moment moved out from behind the clouds, shinning its rays of light down on Suku. Her turquoise hair was pulled neatly into a tight bun with two chop sticks that held a bell on each end. She let her bangs fall from the bun shaping her face nicely. As she moved towards the group the light jingle of the bells filled the air.

Itachi gasped, his eyes widening in surprise. The dark Kimono accented every curve of her body, and as she walked, every pair of eyes followed her. Her nicely sized pink lips moved into a small smile; her face was smooth and flawless. Her eyes lashes darkened by mascara, making her eyes pop with intensity.

Naruto looked from person to person, confused. He wore the ocean blue kimono with the white foaming waves at the bottom, and the silver oak leaves falling from the silver tree on the back.

When they reached Itachi, Suku kissed his cheek and waited patiently for the Kage's to arrive. Suku and Naruto weren't the only one's that had changed for the opening of the festival. Itachi wore a dark blue kimono with the Uchiha fan on the back. But the seven swordsmen remained in their ninja attire.

Once it reached two hours exactly, the Mizukage and Hokage arrived with Koga's team and the other four mist shinobi.

Sarutobi motioned for Itachi and Suku to come towards him and the young couple walked to him.

"There has been a change of plans. You will not have to accompany us tonight. I will take Naruto with me and watch over him. You two can go enjoy the festival, you also have the day off tomorrow." Smiling at the two Sarutobi then left with Matsu and the others.

"What are we suppose to do?" Suku asked scratching the back of her head.

"I think we are to attend the festival and have fun." Itachi said unsurely.

"Okay, then lets go." Happily Suku began walking towards the center of Konoha where the celebration would be.

Laughing softly, Itachi caught up to Suku and wrapped his hand around hers, intertwining their fingers. And so the night filled with fun began.

---

With hands full of prizes Itachi and Suku walked through the busy streets, yet somehow they managed to hold the others hand. As they excited the streets, they came upon a small park. The sun had long settled down for bed and the moon was high in the sky. They walked up a hill and sat down their burdens of prizes.

"This is a perfect spot," Suku gasped, as the fireworks crackled and lit up the night sky. The secluded hill was quiet, as the two lay back giving them a full view of the sky. A slight breeze sent shivers down Suku's spine. The silk cloth of the Kimono was to thin to keep her warm from the cool spring night air. Scooting closer to Itachi, Suku rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulders and closed his eyes not caring much for the fire works; only for the women that lay in her arms right now.

Suku no longer felt the cold laying with Itachi. She too closed her eyes, and clung to Itachi. Clung to this moment. They sat in the lonely park till the village quieted, the music ceasing to play, the laughing ceasing to laugh, and the happy crawling into their warm beds.

"Suku, I think we should return home." Itachi spoke breaking the silence. Nodding, Suku picked herself up and dusted off her Kimono. They walked to the Senshi Estate to find it empty. The two were not surprised, they had seen Kakashi and Rina together during the festival, and they most likely went to Kakashi's old apartment. Anko was off passed out drunk somewhere, and would return home in the morning.

"Looks like we have the house to ourselves," Suku whispered the sleeve of her kimono slipping down onto her arm. She stood seductively leaning against the door way of the front door, waiting for Itachi's reaction.

He smirked, his eyes full of lust, as he looked Suku up and down. From there Suku and Itachi let their own hormones and feelings take control. Itachi picked her up bridal style carrying her to their bedroom. He softly set her down, as he untied his obi. One by one, clothing was removed till none remained. The yearning for the other had become too great after all these years of knowing each other. Many thought that they had already lost their virginity to each other a long time ago, but they were wrong. They had waited for this special moment right now. This moment that was perfect. This moment that would last forever. This moment that made their love eternal.

---

The singing birds of the morning sung loud and beautiful that morning. The sun shinned brighter as two young shinobi woke up happier than the day before. The long night of romance had ended, yet they still gripped each other as if they would some how slip away from the other and never see them again. A knock on their door woke the two sleeping teens. Though before they could answer, Anko walked into the room. She smirked when she saw the two, and winked at them, "Did you both have a good night?" Anko asked, still smirking.

"Get out!" The couple yelled, angry of how much little privacy they had. As Suku wrapped the black silk dragon kimono around herself she bent over in pain. Last night had left her sore. Itachi looked over concerned and a bit saddened he had caused her that pain. She smiled weakly in return and touched her glowing green hand to her bladder area. The pains dulled to the point were she could walk, but she was aware of the pain in the back of her mind; reminding her of last night.

The spring festival son came to a close. The sakura trees pink blossoms fell one by one to the ground, carried away by the wind.

The Mizukage left Konoha with her personal guards and returned to Kiri without any difficulty. The shinobi then returned to their regular routines. The season changed with out notice of the residence in the Senshi Estate.

The assassination attempts stopped and Kakashi and Rina moved back into Kakashi's apartment. Anko, however, chose to stay in the quiet house. Over the years she had become quite attached to Naruto, though she was not the only one. Despite still being trained, Naruto was hyper active and always smiling. The blonde boy had become a ray of happiness in everyone's life. He became much closer to Shikamaru and they played almost every afternoon. Sasuke would join them on occasions, and they all enjoyed being with each other.

After a long day of work Suku and Itachi enjoyed coming home to the sweet boy they had begun to think of as their own. They however did not want Naruto to see them as parents. Yes, they were raising him but it was better if he knew the truth of his real parents and saw them as siblings.

Itachi and Suku had agreed that on Naruto's thirteenth birthday they would tell him the truth about his parents. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.

-Uchiha Compound-

Shadowed figures stood in the dark chamber under the house with only a few candles for light. Much as they had done before, the Uchiha Council stood in a circle with Shisui in the middle.

"I followed Itachi just as you asked during the festival." Shisui spoke, his voice deepened over the years, "And I can now say positively that they are no longer virgins." His voice was cold and emotionless; he had long discarded his embracement of seeing their most intimate moment's years ago. There were angry whispers amongst the men, "Pure Uchiha blood tainted by that filthy girl"- "We must carry on with the plan with or without Itachi"- "No, we need the boy." As the quite debate continued, Fugaku stood with his eyes closed thinking intently. His expression of deep angry was shown fully as he refused to believe his first born son's actions. His prized son, the one that was the key to all their plans! His own puppet had been ripped away from him, and he wanted Itachi back at all costs.

Then an idea came to him. Of course! Itachi has become close to Sasuke lately, and if Sasuke was to become part of their plans Itachi would have no choice but to follow their orders. Sasuke had been denied the attention of his father, so if Fugaku noticed him more Sasuke will do more and more to become liked by his father and receive the appreciation he so badly desires. After a few months, Sasuke will drift away from Itachi and he will have no choice but to join them to investigate on what they were planning, making him fall right into their hands. The plan was fool proof!

All they had to do was use Sasuke to get to Itachi…Yes that was the plan…

Fugaku cleared his throat and the whispering immediately stopped.

"We will carry on with the original plan however; there will be a slight change…."

-The following Morning-

Beep….Beep….Beep….beep.

Groaning, Itachi rolled over to the side of the bed and turned the annoying alarm off. He stared at the plan cream colored ceilings, his eyes shifted to Suku who slept next to him. Her bear back was turned away from him, and Itachi lifted his hand and moved it slowly up her lower back to her neck. Moving her hair to the side and kissed the inside of her neck. She shifted slightly feeling the contact of his lips; she then murmured something that was inaudible for Itachi to hear. Smiling, he pressed his lips to her own, and then whispered in her ear, "Sleep, I'll be back in time for lunch…"

With that Itachi, pulled himself out of bed and began getting ready for his early morning guard duty.

Fully dressed and ready to go, Itachi walked down the quiet halls towards the kitchen. On the table was an apple waiting for him, set out by Suku that night before she went to bed. Picking up the apple, Itachi walked out of the kitchen and onto the porch leading to the gardens. Expecting it to be empty, Itachi was surprised to see Naruto sitting on the edge of the porch staring at sun rise.

Itachi squatted down next to him, "Naruto, what are you doing up so early?"

Naruto did not answer for a moment then tore his gaze away from the sky, "Watching the sun rise." He replied quietly, and then turned his eyes back to the rising sun.

Itachi stared down at the young blonde boy, automatically knowing something was wrong, so he sat down next to him and bit into his apple.

"What's on your mind?" Itachi asked quietly, taking another bite out of the apple.

Still looking at the sky the five year old boy replied, "Where are my mommy and daddy? Do they not love me?"

Itachi sighed, and pulled the teary eyed Naruto into a hug, "You will know when you're older. Just know that they loved you very much."

Wiping his tears away with his the back of his hand, Naruto nodded looking up at Itachi, "Did you know them?" He questioned.

Nodding Itachi said, "I did, but I need to get going or I'll be late." Standing up Itachi began walking towards the main road before turning around and smiling back at Naruto's own happy face.

Suku awoke an hour later, her feet dragging on the wooden floor. Tiredly, she poured herself a cup of hot tea and sat down on the porch, much like Itachi and Naruto had done an hour earlier. Only dressed in her black Kimono, she sat in the cool morning air enjoying her tea. When she finished her cup, she peeked in Naruto's room to find him trying to read a book they had been reading every night together.

He slowly began sounding out words, each world becoming a bit easier than the last. Smiling to herself, Suku left the room, Naruto wanted to show everyone that he could read and that he did it himself.

Suku walked back into her bedroom, and changed into her training clothes; a grey tank top, black shorts, and normal ninja shoes.

When she ambled back out into the kitchen Suku called out, "Good morning Naruto," as she picked up a banana and began eating it.

Light footsteps could be heard hitting the wood floor as he ran into the kitchen, dressed and ready to train.

"Good morning Onee-chan, can we go train?!" He yelled jumping up and down.

"Calm yourself Naruto," Suku said ruffling his hair, "Yes, we can I'm just about to leave. Did you have breakfast?" He nodded vigorously, his head resembling a blonde bobble head. Chuckling, she led him out of the house and into the forest where the Senshi training grounds were set up.

They started out with a light warm up, well in Suku's case. They jogged around Konoha once, swam a quarter mile, and did twenty push-ups and crunches. When they finished, Suku decided to add more weight to Naruto's body. There was ten more pounds on each limb, making him fall to his knees.

"Get up Naruto," Suku replied, her happy attitude gone; left on the steps of the house. She was not going to be an easy teacher that would baby him and try to shield him from the world. Suku wanted to prepare him for the life of a shinobi, if he chose to live it later on.

Sweat dripped down his face, as he slowly stood up panting; his brows moist with perspiration, yet his eyes shined with determination.

"Good, today we will be working on your Taijutsu. I want you to do 50 punches on each arm, and 50 kicks on each leg. Do not slack on any of your strikes; put as much effort into each one as you did the last. Now begin!" Suku held out her hand for him to punch as he began.

His punches were weak, but his form was right and that's all that mattered to Suku right now. Once he reached forty he began to get tired, "Keep pushing Naruto, you have ten left make them good!" Nodding, Naruto continued punching her hand. By the time Naruto finished his kicks, it was time for lunch; so the two made their way out of the forest and back into the house.

"Hmm, what should I make for lunch today Naruto?" Suku asked looking through the contents of their refrigerator and cabinets.

"Fish and vegetables," He suggested grabbing a basket off the table.

"Okay, we can do that. Will you go pick some pea pods, a corn husk, a few tomatoes, and a carrot?" She asked.

He was already out the door into the vegetable section of the garden before she could finish her sentence.

When he arrived back inside the house, Suku had already started cooking the rice and fish. She then took out a knife and a cutting board and began chopping up the single carrot. Standing by the trash, Naruto opened each pea pod and removed the peas then threw the pod into the trash.

Their teamwork continued till lunch was finally ready and was set down on the table. The steaming food sat at the table waiting for Itachi to come home and eat.

Sniffing the air, Anko walked into the kitchen and sat down, "Finally lunch is ready. Smells pretty good, is Uchiha eating with us?" She asked.

"Im pretty sure he is going to eat with us, I wonder where he is…" Suku spoke sitting down next to her.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, the three decided to eat with out Itachi, which only happened when he was on missions. Suku put the leftovers from lunch in the fridge and continued Naruto's training.

"Today, you are going work on your chakra control." She reached in her bag and grabbed a kunai and threw it at a near by tree; the knife embedding itself deep into the ground. "You are going to climb that tree without your hands, just purely using your chakra." Suku then began walking up the tree, demonstrating what Naruto was supposed to do.

"Okay," He said walking over to the tree. Concentrating, he molded his chakra to the bottom of his feet and stuck one foot onto the tree then the other.

He immediately fell over landing on his back painfully. Sitting under a tree, Suku yelled to him laughing,

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, it's best to get a running start first." Naruto glared at her, then took a couple steps back and ran at the tree.

After seeing Naruto fall off the tree over and over, Suku closed her eyes pretending to fall asleep. She however, was searching for Itachi's chakra signature. He wasn't still on guard duty, he wasn't training, and he wasn't at the Hokage tower. There was only one other place she could think of. The Uchiha Compound. Sure enough he was there, but he wasn't with Sasuke or Mikoto. The chakra signature he was with was none other than clan head himself, Fugaku.

'That's strange…' She thought opening her eyes, 'Why would he be there?' Her mind once again went into overdrive thinking of possible reasons why he was there. Itachi never got along with his father, and he hated being there. If he was with Sasuke, that would be understandable sense they were brothers and he wanted to spend time with him. But Fugaku?!

'I need to talk to him'

"Oi! Naruto," Suku called, "I'll be back later, keep working on it till you get to the top of the tree."

She then left the training ground, running towards to Uchiha Estate. When she was half way there, Shisui appeared in front of her.

"Leave Senshi," He spat, "Itachi is dealing with Uchiha business that does not concern you."

Suku glared at him returning the harsh words, "Oh look, its Fugaku's personal lap dog. He finally let you off the leash?" Shisui made no motion of the insult only spoke to her like he was speaking from a script.

"You're within the Uchiha district, leave or I'll force you to leave."

Laughing Suku responded, "_You_ make _me_ leave? You barely just made Jounin, and the only reason you became one was because of Fugaku not because you strong enough.. You're weak, and you know it."

Her words cut into Shisui and got the desired result she wanted. Activating his Sharingan, he charged Suku with a kunai in hand. He swung the knife towards Suku's neck, trying to cut her throat open. She easily ducked, and then a swift upper cut punch hit him squarely in the chin. He stumbled back, wiping blood from his mouth. Running forward towards Suku, Shisui ran threw hand seals and ending on the tiger seal.

"_Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu" _

A giant fire ball then flew towards Suku; smiling to herself she summoned her split body in her hand.

'Now's a good time to try this out and see if it works...' She thought, holding out her glowing yellow hand. As the fire ball came closer, she braced herself and concentrated on what she wanted the yellow chakra to do. When they connected, the fire ball completely stopped and shrunk in size dramatically till it was nothing more than a wisp of smoke that the wind easily put out.

Shisui's eyes widened, "What the hell was that?!" He yelled preparing another fire ball and shooting it towards her.

'I wonder…' She thought as it flew towards her. Suku held out her hand like before and stopped the fire ball, then using her own chakra she pushed the chakra towards the fire ball shooting it back towards Shisui faster than before. He barely managed to jump out of the way, his right arm burnt by the intense flames. Pieces of scorched fabric fell from his arm, each one still having a small flame eating away at the cloth.

Smiling with delight, Suku decided that she would talk to Itachi later besides they had already caused too much damage and attention; with one hand seal, she poofed away in a cloud of smoke, leaving the wounded Shisui.

Suku returned to the training ground to find Naruto balancing on the top of the tree. Whistling loudly, she yelled to him, "Good job now let's go home!"

---

Itachi returned late that night, entering the house silently only to find Suku waiting for him in their bedroom.

"Why were you with Fugaku?" She asked her eyes shifting from her book to Itachi.

"Sasuke has been acting different lately; ever sense Fugaku began noticing him. I think he is trying to control Sasuke, and train him like he did to me for his own selfish purposes." Itachi said changing into his loose kimono, "I can't help but feel like they are planning something, something big. I need to get closer to them to it figure out." He laid down in bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Suku closed her book then turned off the light, "Be careful." was all she said before turning over to her side and falling asleep.

--- One year later--- (Itachi & Suku age 17, Naruto age 6, Kakashi 18, Rina 15.)

Dark clouds covered the night sky, obscuring the light of a full moon. Two shadowed figures moved soundlessly through the village approaching the sleeping Uchiha District. The two men split up, one going to the main house the other to the police section.

Screams erupted into the night as blood was shed from each Uchiha. One by one they fell to the ground, lifeless; their arrogant smirks no longer on their lips, their prized sharingan no longer able to save their own lives. Their precious existence taken away in an instant.

---

Suku woke up eyes widened in terror. She looked over and saw that Itachi wasn't beside her. Jumping out of bed she put on her ninja gear and put her hair in a pony tail and left the house sprinting as fast as she could to the Uchiha Compound.

As she neared the District, a river of blood trickled down the street. The thick red liquid moving slowly yet its size grew larger and larger. Her heart beat increased, fearing the worst.

She past body after body though she felt no sadness towards these people. Suku ran through the Uchiha's main house till she found the master bedroom. Sasuke sat staring at the attacker, grasping his shoulder wounded.

"Itachi!" Suku yelled walking past Sasuke and into the darkened bedroom. Her heart beat quickening

Itachi turned his head slowly looking directly at Suku. He slowly unsheathed his katana, the unspoken warning for her leave. Suku's own eyes narrowed as she drew a kunai in each hand. In a flash the two rained blows on each other, both of them dead even. This however was only child's play for the two. As Itachi sliced down at her with his sword Suku's hand glowed yellow and numbing Itachi's own hands dropping the Katana on the floor. He jumped back and the feeling in his hands returning. Itachi raised an eyebrow smirking, she purposely weakened her attack. 'This could get very interesting…' he thought disappearing and reappearing in front of her punching her right in the jaw.

Suku flew back from the force behind the punch cracking the wall in half. As she got up, the wall began to crumble into tiny chunks of matter. However, it was Suku's turn to disappear and reappear in front of Itachi. With her glowing yellow hand she touched his shoulder rendering it completely useless. Then with her other hand she stabbed her poisoned Senbon into his abdomen, injecting the poison into his body. As she was about to jump back, Itachi grabbed her neck and slammed her into another wall.

Increasing his grip on her throat, Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and forced Suku to stare into his spinning eyes.

Her struggling increased, her screams of pain far surpassing the Uchiha's. Tears streamed down her face as she clawed at Itachi's hand to let her got. Itachi then threw her across the room; her body shook has she stood up. Suku's breathing became irregular and rough, as her dark blue eyes stared into Itachi's spinning sharingan.

"Stop it…stop it…stop it!" Suku screamed clutching her head, her fingers tangled in her own hair. Her vision blurred, swaying bit she then slumped over unconscious. Itachi walked over to her, tears falling from his face onto her own.

He bent down kissing her one last time. Itachi then disappeared. He disappeared from the Uchiha district. Disappeared from Konoha. Disappeared from the world.

* * *

~"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."~

* * *


	18. The End of Death's Hand

Well that was the end of Death's Hand. I had said in a previous chapter that this story would end in the next few chapters. But do not worry, I will be writing a sequel. But that will depend on the response of Death's Hand. So if you want me to keep writing please let me know. It's extremely encouraging to know that someone actually cares about your story and that you're not just writing to yourself. I know I have probably said if before, but I'm going to say it again. Please review.

**Azura Soul Reaver has been amazing at that and I truly appreciate it and so has 0x059.**


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